Shades of Red
by Proccit
Summary: Huntsmen and Huntresses, they are walls that stand between humanity and the Creatures of Grimm. They defend, they protect, but time after time they eventually fall, to death or to corruption. But what if some of them were already fallen to begin with? Undergoing rewrite
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: ****Broken, Scattered and Shattered**

**EDIT (I tried to keep some mystery, but apparently I fail at it so I added a little more clues to people can follow better and a one paragraph explanation below for those who still don't get it.)**

* * *

All Ichigo remembered was the scream.

It was blood curdling, inhuman, terrifying.

It was terror made manifest, a tangible thing that crept through his skin like thousands of insects that gnashed throughout, over and under his own skin. It was the roar of a monster that spoke of void, emptiness that could never be filled by whatever man could create, whatever nature could show. Nothing, even the very soul of the world could grant it satisfaction. It was the howl of anger, or regret that would never fade, the only proof he needed that the world was cruel, and that the act of doing right would never, ever, go unpunished.

He remembered hearing the godforsaken sound, one that would chill the very souls of whoever heard it, no matter how depraved, and tried to find solace in the darkness he had unleashed upon the realm.

He would have found it if he did not remember what the darkness brought after he swung his sword and the chilling consequences of his actions. He had achieved what he wanted to achieve, but the cost was far, far steeper than he had imagined. And accompanying that memory were his feelings, his desire to simply give in to all his pent up anger and strike someone down, to be the executioner for once.

He was in the right. He possessed the moral high ground. He was the one who would have been hailed a hero for doing the world such a justice...

But he was the one who was left broken; wailing into a sea of his own darkness.

He held his eyes shut not long after the darkness fell, filled with the knowledge that even if it faded, there would be nothing left to see.

His hearing went away next, along with his sense of touch when the screaming, his screaming, was too much to bear. His throat was raw, and yet fresh thanks to his Hollow nature, but his mind had yet deemed it necessary to stop his terrible cry. After what seemed like hours, he stopped caring entirely, and with that, the crawling sensation tearing at his throat faded soon after.

His sense of smell was quite confusing though. He didn't know when that faded, simply because his attack left no trace. The air was scentless to begin with, and his reiatsu would have torn away the air itself, taking whatever scents it carried into oblivion. His only solace there was that he didn't have to inhale the harsh stench of freshly split blood, the wave of darkness he unleashed _obliterating_ the liquid.

He knew then that he was alone, hopelessly and irreversibly alone. He had destroyed everything, and only he himself remained in the aftermath.

He almost laughed at the thought, the universe seemed to give him another suitable punishment after he trashed Hell itself.

He would be surrounded in darkness and tormented for eternity.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_What is that...?_

When the light fragrance of flowers stirred his supposedly nonexistent senses, he was quite surprised. No, that would be an understatement; the only thing that kept him from rushing to the source of the aroma was the fact that he didn't even have enough strength to lift the lids covering his eyes. He had no other choice but wait until his senses returned to him, and as they did, he felt less and less... alive.

He could never tell the actual name of the flower whose scent he breathed in, but it was oddly familiar. It was not overpowering, not something that would be considered aromatic, certainly not appealing but it was... redolent. It gave an impression of familiarity, but there was something missing. Add in a whiff of ocean air, he could most closely compare it to something he last smelled, a decade ago.

_Her hair always smelled like flowers, because of the shampoo she would use, with a slight hint of ocean air._ He thought fondly. It was the only thing he ever breathed whenever he was being cradled in her arms, the only times he felt truly safe. A decade has past but the memories, every instance he had been with her perfectly photographed, were forever etched in his memory.

His hope grew as his sense of touch returned next, bringing with it the warmth that could only truly be _hers_. The nostalgia hit him harder than anything he had ever felt, just as the soft, tender embrace that enveloped him held him together. He had not the strength to return the gesture, not even the smallest power to squeeze back, but it was enough to know that he was being held.

_She_ was here. His dead mother was_ here_

It was enough that she held him, the way she had always held him.

In that moment, together with the darkness, accompanied only by chilling silence, he was a child again.

He was weak.

He was helpless.

He was alone.

But he had her warmth, and he was once again in the loving hold of the only one who could make him smile. In the darkness, he had found his light again, and in the silence he had found his resolve. Except this was no longer a battle against an enemy, but one he had to wage with himself. He had found his sun and every fiber of his _soul_ screamed for him to hold her, to open his eyes, to tell her everything.

Then again, he knew he had to wait. He knew that his strength would return, eventually, and if not to the level he was accustomed to, he would be able to at least be with her. If he could not shatter mountains and render oceans into nothingness with his bare hands, he would be to at least hold her in his arms. If he could not longer perceive things that went beyond sound, and closed in on light, he would at least be able to gaze upon her face and see her smile like she always had. If he could not wield the power of the Gods of Death, then he will live with the knowledge that she was with him; alive.

It took quite a while for his sense of hearing to return, he was greeted by music. It was awkward, wordless, and almost inaudible but he could hear it; he knew exactly what it was. The soft humming, accompanied by her warm breath tickling his ear, was a simple lullaby. He had friends who played music, he could drown himself in it at times, but at that moment, such a simple song was perfection.

If only his hearing was not as sharp as it was.

As much as he wanted to remain in the moment, to focus on what was before him, for fear that even the slightest distraction would take away what he had, but he was trained better than that. Two of the most fearsome captains made sure that if he could not cast spells, if he could not wield a sword that would impress the Captain Commander, he knew something. He knew how to perceive and to adapt.

His old teacher did tell him his most frightening aspect was not his strength, but the rate at which he grew stronger, faster, smarter: better.

And to grow, to adapt, to react, one needed to perceive and he did. Behind the soft lullaby he could hear the whispers of the wind, the light rustling of the trees as they swayed and footsteps. They were light, extremely so, possessing the quality only found in natural predators when they were stalking prey. Vaguely, he could recall a certain black cat walking in total silence, so he was lucky he could hear the soft crunch of something being crushed underfoot. It didn't take a genius to figure out the rest of the situation from there.

He was being held close and sung to while whatever was approaching them treaded unimpeded. If anything, it reminded him of the last time they were together, and the haunting conclusion that followed after. The scene that would eventually make him hate the rain and want to destroy the heavens when so much as drizzled. The moment he realized his mother died and it was his fault came back to him.

_Not this time._ He thought resolutely as he willed whatever power he still had come forth.

"No." She said weakly, her voice holding nothing but concern for him even in it's obvious weakness as he tried escape her. "Don't... go... You'll... get... hurt... I'll..." She struggled to speak as he softly nudged at the arms that held him down, fighting down the guilt pooling in his soul when her pain snaked its way into his ears. She was hurt, she protected him again as he slumbered, just like back then.

"It's fine, mom." He said in the most reassuring tone he could muster in his weakness, even as he warred with himself. He didn't need to see to feel the apprehension rolling of her, nor did he want to fight her to ensure their survival, but he needed to fight. He would protect her this time, and to do that he would have to be as far away from her as possible. "I'm not going to let them hurt you this time."

He couldn't find his sword.

He was unsure whether or not his power would prove sufficient.

His senses were still playing tricks on him.

He didn't know how many they were up against.

Still, he was never more sure about anything he had ever said in his life.

Her grip soon went slack as he mustered the strength to stand. He felt the chill of ice underfoot while the wind gained an icy edge as it blew around him. He wanted to be back in her embrace, to feel her warmth, to listen to her sweet song while her soft heartbeat kept time, yet he knew he could not. At least not before he dealt with whatever it was before him that dared threaten to take her away again.

He opened his eyes; he felt the biting cold wind try to claw at them but he didn't so much as flinch.

All he saw was black and white, creatures of darkness against the stark winter landscape. They were blurs, almost melding perfectly with each other in a sea of monochrome. That was fine with him, he never really needed to see his opponents when he fought them. He could feel them anyway, with the relatively small distance between him and whatever they were. He fought bald luck half-blind after all.

So he could perceive the multitude of creatures before him, not in their inky blackness, but of the uniqueness of their power, not as empty as a Hollow, but just as ravaging, just as malicious. It was strange, sharing more of a resemblance with the power of Fullbringers than Hollows, somewhat dark, and yet still fully alive. It was still animalistic, almost devoid of all reason, but it was just that, pure instinct.

They were weak, almost not worth the time it would take to dispose of them, but they were threatening him. They were threatening the woman behind him. For a crime such as that, he would end them and he would enjoy doing it. A small part of him, the part still somewhat rational, screamed at him to keep his instincts in check, but an animalistic whisper egged him to go and kill the would-be predators.

It would be easy, taking nothing more than a single punch to end them, to punish them for their insolence. It would be harder to kill them all individually than simply willing his power to push with all its strength and crush them outright. Then again, with her behind him and his level of control, it would be difficult to make sure that she would remain unaffected.

So he made the first move, rushing into the fray with a burst of inhuman speed. He did not know exactly how fast he traveled but with a single bound, he closed the distance between him and the creature waiting at the very tail of the group: the one farthest from his original position. He couldn't suppress the small smile that tugged on his lips, as his powers still retained a level of strength, and he struck.

Memories of days long past surfaced as his rage lanced through him. Teachers long gone, teachers he failed were at the forefront of his mind as the creature's eyes met him, and the guilt followed soon after. The anger and sorrow seemed to make the red glow even brighter but as it fueled the beasts, it fueled his strikes.

Tessho: the iron palm was the easiest to execute; a blindingly fast strike with the simple thrust to the head with enough strength to crush concrete. The monster he fought didn't have a prayer.

It made no sound as its bone white mask, reminiscent of the empty despairing souls he cleansed, imploded into itself, killing it instantly while an explosion of force powered through, flinging ice and snow everywhere even from behind the creature's shattered form. He clenched his fist even as the monster's form began fading, the smirk on his face nothing but murderous in the eyes of any observer.

He didn't need to see to know that his blow was enough to dig a sizable trench along the path of the blow, even as it annihilated the main target.

His strength was not as it was, but it would be sufficient.

With that thought in mind, he confronted the first monster to face him, lazily sidestepping as the strange hybrid lunged at him with full fury. A horizontal chop, so fast that human eyes could not hope to detect it, bisected the creature from maw to tail before both pieces crashed into the snow behind him. He paid no mind to the other four caught in the shockwave of his attack, suffering the same fate of their comrade just by being in range of the blade of wind formed by the gesture.

_This is taking too long._ He thought before flinging a fist forward, a small burst of power bursting outward just as his arm reached full extension. The instinctively launched Bala bulldozed through the ranks of monsters, killing at least another four as it flew with speeds far eclipsing its more powerful counterpart. Another flew soon after, striking one closest to the woman just at it rushed in to end her.

The Bala was the counterpart of the Cero and, like all techniques of its kind, was something learned instinctively. It was a condensed mass of power released more often than not in the form of a punch, launching it towards the target at breakneck speeds. It was used against single opponents as a form of distraction, but if the foe was weak enough, a single strike may very well prove to be excessive.

From a single shot to massive barrages, it was by far more versatile when compared to its more powerful counterpart, compensating for its lack of power with its sheer speed and fire rate.

Trying to strike at the woman he protected rather than him would be their final mistake.

Power, pure and terrible, impregnated the air in an instant, sending beings of reason to their knees as they experienced fear, but only stilling the creatures that feed on sorrow and despair.

It was their only warning before a veritable hailstorm of power flooded the snowy field with its menacing glow. It was an instant later, when bright red finally faded from view, that one would be able to see several headless corpses lying in the snow, their black forms in stark contrast to the white ground as they faded away slowly. Each died after being struck by a single attack, no more and no less.

His smile faded as his sight returned as soon as the massacre ended, his eyes on the woman he had been wanting to see for the past decade. Brown orbs widened in panic before he crossed the distance.

Hands drifted from her neck, temples, wrists and chest as he frantically searched for a pulse, his apprehension growing each moment he failed to find even the faintest of heartbeats. Her hands were still warm but they were deathly pale, almost as lifeless as the day she left him. She wore strange clothing, predominantly white like her heritage suggested, but the red shined against the dreary monochrome. Her hair was even brighter than he remembered, a river of the purest sunlight even by the light of the waning moon, and her visage was gentle, almost at ease despite his own inquietude.

His heart broke once more when he realized the scene was exactly identical to what occurred that decade.

He was close, so close, but he failed once again. Even as he annihilated the enemy, he was too...

"NO!" A voice not his own roared into the night as his power escalated to heights they had not reached in memory. The vermilion and sable fled from the blanket of power that enveloped the area more completely than the snow brought about by the winter storm as bright blue filled the air. The flaring mass of pure energy seemed to gather around the boy as he fell on his knees even as tears began falling.

In an instant, the clearing was flooded with light, shining even more brilliantly than a newborn star, as his power once again reached transcendence. Power of the Soul, so magnificent, so absolutely _beyond_ graced the world as his death cry reached the heavens. Around him, the ground quivered with fear as pure force dug into the earth and tore boulders from its very depths. Trees were uprooted as ice, stone, and air were not destroyed but _unmade_ in the presence of such indomitable strength. Light that was not shined in the center of the great typhoon of reverse creation, cutting through blue radiance.

Time was rendered meaningless; how could it matter when in the face of such despair, in such terrible dominance?

After what seemed like eons the power simply vanished completely, leaving a boy face-down on the snow beside the woman he failed to protect.

"Please wake up..." He whispered before welcoming the darkness he had held on to for so long.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_This... isn't heaven._ She concluded sagely, quietly nodding to herself as she took in her surroundings. _Nope definitely not heaven._

The area around her was bare of everything that could resemble life, a vacuous wasteland devoid of... anything for that matter. In any and every direction, the world was black, the only exception being the thin crescent that hung in the sky above them. As far as the eye could see, from horizon to horizon, was an impossibly large expanse of pure nothing, uniform and perfect, from the blackened earth to the empty starless sky. In her eyes, it was like whoever sat upstairs decided to grab an eraser and just rubbed away before shading the blank space in with black.

She could feel the black soak into everything, but it wasn't the malice she was so used to fighting. She didn't know how, but it was just plain different. _It's just so... weird, like the sun decided to break..._

A gentle, spluttering snore brought her out of her reverie, her eyes immediately taking the sight of whoever made that adorable noise. She had to keep herself from squealing on the spot.

Sleeping soundly on the obsidian glass ground was a little boy, not even close to puberty yet. He slept on his chest, his form, barely covered by what looked like a lose fitting robe, slowly rose and fell with every breath he took. If his scrunched nose and furrowing brow were anything to judge by, he seemed to be having a nightmare as he slept, forcing him to twist slowly on the eerily smooth ground.

She didn't even need to think before slowly reaching out, plucking him from the ground as gently as a mother cat does her kittens before laying his head on her lap, all the while a serene smile plastered on her face. It was a fond smile that only seemed to grow as she watched his expression shift into a bright beam only a child was capable of making. She brushed orange locks aside before breathing easily.

She didn't know where she was.

She knew she died. She was wounded long before she reached the clearing, why and for what seemed to elude her through. She knew she fought, while the reason escaped her. She knew that she was losing, that she should have fled, but she didn't know what drove her to continue or what urged her to stay. For reasons she could not grasp, or she could no longer grasp, she was dead. That was a fact.

She didn't know who the child was.

She woke up soon after she realized she died, that her life was over, but instead of finding the heaven she still seemed to remember, she found blackness and a child. She couldn't help but ache for the child, who was with her, who, she could only assume, suffered the same fate she had. But that was it, the end of everything she knew about the child. The child on her lap was a total enigma to her.

She didn't know what she would do from there.

There where large gaps in her memory, moments in her life without the faces and places she's been without any of the names. That was just the start of all the complications. She knew she fought, but neither the weapon or who taught her such skills. She knew she could do things that should be impossible, but it seemed to be things she knew instinctively, no explanation required.

She didn't even know her own name at the point. But then again, she didn't care. She knew she was somewhat of a 'go-with-the-flow' kind of girl anyway.

She fell in love the instant she laid eyes him and after that...

In that one simple moment, she was happy again. It was amazing. Being with the kid, it all just seemed to right, like it was fate that brought them together. Intuitively, she knew it was she had to just be with him. It's not that she would have left the random, obviously still living child alone to fight it out on his own, but she felt a need to take him with her. She knew it wasn't the case, but she felt he was hers.

Call it maternal instinct, but she would be raising him, no matter what anyone would say.

_Better wait for him to wake up before doing anything really life changing._

She allowed herself a self-satisfied huff before humming softly a song she just _knew_. She allowed the melody to carry her through memories she no longer possessed and the feelings that still seemed to reach her. She knew warmth even as the snow started falling once more, bringing white to the obsidian landscape.

The mixture of hot and cold, of freezing and thawing, of the warm sunlight together with winter's chill seemed to capture her being so plainly that she simply had not choice but to feel at ease.

"Aki..." She breathed as the song ended, a slight chuckle at the end of her lips as she shook her head.

It felt so strange, not quite a perfect fit, but it was enough for now. It was bright, it was warm, but at the same time it was calm and sober. It was what was left of the her who died, the remnant of the past she managed to carry even after she passed over. It may not have been her then, but she would make do with it until she found the strength to retrace her steps and take back what she had lost.

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" She looked up with mirrored eyes, a hand soothingly combing through his hair as she threw the question at no one in particular. "It almost makes me want to reach up and try to take it for myself, just so I can enjoy it all the time. But that wouldn't do now, would it?" A gentle laugh echoed through the emptiness as under the cover of darkness, night turned into day.

She looked down with eyes shining brighter than starlight before cooing lovingly. "No, if I wanted to take the moon from out of the sky, I would have it to keep it close for the both of us."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

They were beautiful.

Beyond the large glass window he gazed through, he could see the stars shining ever so brightly, illuminating the moonless sky with flickers of white light. Alone, each of the twinkling lights in the vast inky void would have been rendered invisible, just too insignificant to catch the eye of any would-be observer, but together in their billions, maybe more, they created a symphony of light. There were no clouds to block the faint light that gently set the sky aglow, neither was the moon present to replace the sun as the brightest in the heavens after night has fallen; there were only stars in the sky that night.

It was a magnificent sight, undeniably one that would be etched into the minds of any observer lucky enough to witness it.

It was even more so for the one who sat on a small couch, gazing at the night sky outside the window. His face was of a man, regal and proud, and his features were handsome, befitting a king or any monarch of great eminence. He was clothed in a simple dress shirt, as white as the starlight above, while black slacks and neat leather shoes completed the image of a wealthy businessman, enjoying the stars this fine night. The only flaw in the picture was the way he looked at the dazzling skyline; bright blue eyes seemed to have lost their luster, shining only through a film of unshed tears.

They were there not because of the beauty that the scene inspired, no the tears he did not dare shed were for the night. It was beautiful, yet to him, it was just so _wrong._

_In this inner world, where the sun reigned supreme above an endless maze of skyscrapers, the night itself is wrong._

"Oi, old man! Are you going to keep sulking or do we start trying to clean up this mess?" The man looked to his right to see why was speaking to him, a much younger boy with waist length hair asked impatiently. "I mean, it's nice we're all sitting here and talking for a change, but if your just going to throw a silent hissy-fit then say so. I'm even talking properly for fuck's sake!"

He wore a simple white kimono with a black undergarment underneath, matching the black obi wrapped around his waist. Contrasting the man on the couch, he had an amused smirk on his face, while his eyes lit up with a strange joy, holding neither humor nor malice in it. If one didn't know better, one would assume he was genuinely happy to see the old man in such a state, or simply seeing the old man at all. Those who did know better knew he was happy they were finally engaging in open dialogue instead of the usual 'one talks while the other is hidden away and being tortured' routine.

"I have to agree with the boy, you are behaving like a child, yourself." Coming from the man's left this time, another voice chimed in with a hint of amusement in his tone. "Then again, you two have always behaved like the children that you are. If you two simply learned to cooperate at one point, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. I guess it was too much to hope from a pair of children."

The old man turned to meet the malicious gaze of the man to his left with cold indifference. His own stoic mask clashed with the other's venomous grin before the man opposite him shook his head almost wistfully. He was dressed in a crisp three piece suit dyed the deepest black, the only white contrasting being the dress shirt peeking under his vest and jacket and the cuffs on his wrists. His hair, brightest gold, was the shortest among the three and but as the color was shared with the elder man, he was the splitting image of the boy seated on the right, if only an older version.

They were the three inhabitants in such a twisted world, one madness and instinct: a Hollow, another intellect and fortitude: a Quincy, while the last remained an unknown to this day.

"Be silent. You forget that I was old long, long before you were even born." The older man said with a tone that left no room for argument. "But to continue this futile argument is pointless. I am _allowing_ both of you here because there is something that must be discussed, something that, as much as I have invested my efforts to change, involves all three of us. He must not know of this... situation."

"You mean the fact that you half-assed it?" The boy asked snidely as the younger man had difficulty fighting down the chuckle threatening to escape him.

"I performed perfectly, the woman is alive, is she not?" The old man argued back evenly. "If I truly wished otherwise then there would be a massive crater outside, the matter itself transformed into pure energy before the massive explosion would rock the earth. As much as it pains me to say this, what we are experiencing is simply the lesser of the two evils. Such power coupled with such grief would have doomed us all."

The boy would have made a snide retort before the younger man reentered the conversation.

"Well, as far as I can tell, this new arrangement isn't that far from the old one from my standpoint." The younger man said with a wry smile. "I found it strange to encounter anyone at all when I made my final move against that woman, but when I wake up to see you, I was somewhat... content? It was far better than the complete isolation in the sands, as well as the experiments that madman preformed. I never even contacted our landlord once these past years so I am not against everything remaining the same. What of the two of you though, how do you feel about this arrangement?"

The old man looked passive, almost thoughtful when he heard the question while the boy simply furrowed his brows in irritation before lashing out. He was impatient enough as it was with the meeting having no purpose from his perspective. With something like this occurring, he saw no other alternative to provoking the two older beings present in the room.

He would always rather fight than talk about his feelings.

"I thought there was nothing in that chest of yours?" The boy snapped at the younger man, a scowl firmly set on his face. "What's with this talking about our feelings and shit? If this is what you called us here for then I'm out of..." He was cut off when a single black blade, infernal wisps of sickly pale smoke emanating from it's edge, suddenly found itself millimeters from his neck. His eyes rand down the length of it to find the young man's hand at the end of it. "Wanna go a round, pretty boy? Big mistake. If all it took to beat your ass to the ground was some little girl then this will be way too easy."

"Kid, I've been kicking ass and taking names before you were even born. You think I only fought once, and lost? You must be dumber than I thought." Another long black blade materialized in the young man's hand, reaching the boy's neck even as he remained seated on his own couch. "Yeah I lost to the woman, but against kids like you two, this will be a peace of cake. I don't even need both blades."

"Bullshit, you have both of them out don't you?" The teenage boy mocked as he held on to one of them and squeezed, a small trickle of blood running down his pale arm. "You're not that good."

"Let's find out then, shall we?" The young man retorted, the glow of yellow beginning to flow from the blade and consume the boy's hand and neck even as they touched the vile metal.

They would have clashed then and there if a strange vacuum took the power from the very air and rendered their blades null. The eldest among them sighed exasperatedly as he rubbed his temples.

"If you two are done." The old man interjected, the three swords dissolving into black mist and melting into his form. "We must hide ourselves away, from everyone lest we are discovered. If anyone catches wind of the fact that we were not lost in the battle, there will be much unneeded conflict. This is to ensure not only our safety but that of everyone, considering what... could happen otherwise."

The young man sighed and crossed his arms while the boy twitched in anger. Without the blades at his neck, there was nothing keeping him silent.

"Fan-fucking-tastic! So not only did you screw up the move, now we have to leave him behind to fend for himself? You want him even _weaker_ than he already is, right after all the shit that happened, is that it?" The boy demanded angrily, summoning his own blade and holding the old man at sword-point. "I don't give a damn that you held the both of us up for so long! I don't care that you stole everything from me, my job, my place, my own fucking name, but if you dare think we're ditching the King to despair in the name of saving him then you have another thing coming you fucking asshole!"

Unlike the simple sword of the golden-haired boy, this blade was anything but conventional. Compared to the lethality and efficiency the black cavalry sword, the massive nodachi, exhibited with it's lessened curve and it's obscenely sharp edge, the boy's blade was one of savage fury, shining white while its edge dawned a shade that would make the night look as bright as noon.

It was not as elegant, but it was massive, it's blade somewhat broader than the other man's blade and just as long. It lacked a true edge as well, sporting teeth that seemed to be more suited to tearing and shredding rather than the clean cut their blades were known for. While the nodachi was a blade of nobility, this was one of beasts, a weapon that aimed to torture its victims for a slow and painful death.

"Zangetsu, that's enough!" The younger man bellowed as a massive force bared down on the newly-identified Zangetsu. "If the old man says it's for the best, then for fuck's sake, it's for the best. The boy's still alive isn't he? You were released so he can further his power when it was required, am I mistaken? You both want to protect him so leave it to your elder to decide the right method for doing so."

"And I'm supposed to believe you're fucking alright with this?" The seething Zanpakutō spirit spat at the older Hollow while eyes of gold clashed against hard crimson.

"I am content that he lives." The final being replied with a shrug, not phased the Zanpakutō's glare in the least. "You two have been doing a fine job in making sure such remains and that I am not needed in any way. If a situation arises when there is nothing your combined power can do to make sure he lives, I will intervene, but not before. This decision does not affect me in the least, remember?"

"Thank you, White." The old man mumbled awkwardly, definitely not expecting the day to arrive when he would actually thank a hollow. "Now here's what we'll do to ensure he remains safe..."

Both leaned in as he uttered the words that would forever haunt them.

"We'll have to leave."

The explosion of red might as well have replaced the sun, it's fiendish radiance reducing everything in miles to nothingness.

* * *

**Author's Note **

**Hi, Proccit here! **

**Sorry it's late but I really wanted this to be the best I could make it in the time it took the actually write this. Obviously this is dedicated to the great creator of our favorite color-themed, child hunting, monster killing web show, Monty Oum, may God bless his soul, and Happy Valentines day for everyone too. **

**With all the RWBY coming out I decided to try my hand at something like it. First Fanfics have to start somewhere so I just went for it. Like everyone else, I'll try to update as soon as possible and make this little piece of work unique. Can't really promise anyone dates but it will at least be somewhere in the 4-6K range.**

**I know you have to be, well five, not to see what's happening here so please don't spoil it for those who can't see it yet if you choose to honor me with a review.**

**(Edit; never mind, apparently even after some more editing it's confusing as hell so let's break it down a bit. Part one is where we meet our favorite hero being tormented by his own inner darkness and the only thing that can pull him out is the Light of his life: after that, its not exactly too hard to finish that part up. Part two is surreal, I will admit, but writing an amnesiac is somewhat more difficult that I imagined. I thought this was obvious from the get go, but that's the woman Ichigo may or may not have mistaken for his mother. I say may or may not because even at the latest chapter, it hasn't been confirmed yet. Part three is the argument in his inner world where Zangetsu, Quincy Zangetsu or Tensa as I like to call him and White, the hollow from Masaki who supposedly dissolved to become Zangetsu, decide what to do. That is basically chapter 1 Also credits to ****Amiodarona, quite literally, this entire fic was inspired by White Chrysanthemum****)**

**All those who liked it though, be prepared to see our favorite strawberry nerfed by the time he fights the next creature of Grimm. **

**Having what looks like a little kid thrashing monsters that unified a world at war like they're nothing was never the best way to squeeze in plot anyway; my opinion, just saying. If some can pull it off, well good for them; I know I can't.**

**That's all for now, read if you wish, review if you are urged to and favorite or follow at your pleasure.**

**Bye bye! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: ****Learning to Grow**

* * *

"Something tells me I should be used to things like this happening." Ichigo sighed as he looked into the makeshift mirror.

It was his inner world after all, he could be something akin to God if he only tried, but for now he settled for doing the more simple alterations; like turning one of the countless windows on one of the infinite buildings he stood on into a mirror. He could only raise an eyebrow as the child on the reflected surface mimicked the action. It had been a few hours, and finally he was calm enough to take it all in.

It seemed that fate still liked using him as a personal plaything for as it stood, Ichigo Kurosaki, the Hero of the Winter War, the Breaker of the Gates of hell, Substitute Shinigami, was a child.

Of course that would set him off.

"Come on, Ichigo, are you going to stop moping any time soon?" Though as much as the apparent age regression tickled at his mind, the one standing behind him was a more immediate problem. A problem he would have to deal with as violently as possible. "Hey now, cut it out with the death glare. It was bad enough that you almost leveled the place, I can't have you going into another roaring rampage any time soon."

The blond young man behind him, smiling behind lidded eyes that reminded him too much of the silver-haired snake, was another source of a multitude of questions. He was dressed in a strange set of clothing, a long black trench coat and similarly colored pants worn under several pieces of bone-like armor. A full set of greaves and sabatons protected his legs while a chest plate that resembled an oversized ribcage protected his torso. Vambraces protected his arms even as pauldrons sat on his shoulders, the motif of bone so integrated that even his hands resembled the appearance of a skeleton's.

The intruder's overall appearance brought too many memories back to the forefront of his mind, never mind some of the answers he sought.

But then that was before, when his despair was so great that the world was once more drowning in what would have been his tears, and the buildings so brittle that even a child could shatter them in it's entirety. Now that he was calm, he could once more address what lay before him; yet another manifestation of his powers.

"So you're supposed to be my Fullbring?" His eyes still narrowed in suspicion.

"Direct to the point as usual, eh, Ichigo?" The being chuckled lightly as brown orbs met piercing red. "Something like that, I don't really know myself at this point. After your power finally stabilized, the question of who controls what was never really answered. The old man still kept his Quincy side, your sword still retained his Hollow nature, but as for me? That's something we both have to discover."

His scowl deepened at the winding answer. He definitely reminded him of the traitor of a right hand of that madman. "But you look just like Ginjo." Not in visage, but their attire was strangely similar.

"You should realize by now, little boy," Ichigo flat out glared as his new status was slammed once again into his face. "...that nothing is truly what it seems."

The scowling boy simply stared as the being spoke, fully aware that, as much as he hated it, he was right. Everything that was happening was so strange, so surreal, that he couldn't even tell what was going on anymore. Form the beginning, he had the worst luck of the draw, having his "real" Zanpakutō sealed away by the manifestation of the madman who killed his mother. If he couldn't tell if whatever was inside him, the very parts of him, were lying or not, he knew he could be walking into another trap just by talking to whoever was standing before him.

He couldn't feel the most infinitesimal bit of reiatsu coming from the intruder, so that must mean that whatever he was talking to was at least a part of him, even if he didn't know what part exactly.

"What's your name?" He asked, for once, trying a new method as opposed to his signature 'cut-if-looks-like-enemy-first-ask-questions-later' approach.

"You really think it would be that easy?" The young man laughed as Ichigo finally turned to face him, shooting him as venomous a glare as a five year old could manage. "Think about it, you've been lied to most of your life. Your father kept your heritage from you, your mother's as well as his. Your teachers lied to you about everything, from the true nature of your powers to how you obtained them in the first place. Your very soul lied to you until he was forced to reveal the truth. How can you be so sure that I won't lie to you now, when people you cared about did so through their teeth?"

"They didn't." He countered simply, through the sheer exhaustion in his voice was somewhat troublesome. No child should even be able to talk like that.

"Excuse me?" The being queried, confusion written on his face while his eyes shined with something more.

"I waited for Dad even if I had the right to ask. Sure, he kept the truth from us, he never told us that he was a Shinigami, but then that's different from lying to my face." Ichigo replied evenly, even as he raised his hands to list the rest. "The old man never lied to me. He said he was Zangetsu, and in the end, he really was my sword. There was the true lust for battle and then reason, the technique and skill that comes with it. The hollow tried to force down my throat that he was Zangetsu too, but I never really believed him. Urahara-san and Yoruichi always helped us out, so I'll ask again. Who are you?"

There were a few moments of terse silence before the sound of slow clapping pierced the silence. "You really have grown up, haven't you." Ichigo would have thought he was being sincere if he didn't get down on a knee just to smile at him at eye level. He didn't seem to be affected in the least by the glare Ichigo shot at him, and when he spoke, it was with genuine friendliness. "Narius, Narius White."

"Kurosaki Ichigo." The boy shook the skeleton hand just as the bone armor faded to reveal a man in a crisp suit. "So, Narius," The boy eyed him warily as he released his hand. Memories, knowledge that he knew was not his flooded him as he once more found his voice. "Why cheerful white?"

"I only hope that one day you will understand it's significance." The newly-named Narius brushed him off with a disarming smile before gaining a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Now, do you have more questions, or can I send you back, mentally stable?"

"Don't compare me to Zangetsu, just because he's a part of me. I'm not that insane." Ichigo quipped quickly before grasping his statement. "Where are they anyway, the Hollow and the old man?"

"They left." Narius replied with a smile that would blind even Tosen had he retained his sight.

Of course, the reassuring smile coupled with such an unwelcome message had the reverse effect on Ichigo.

"WHAT!" The inner world thundered with his voice as concrete cracked and glass shattered. The smile on Narius' face faltered as he flinched from the volume as the child Ichigo looked positively sanguinary. They both knew the Zangetsu himself would be impressed by the anger present on his face, but at this point, neither cared. "WHERE THE HELL DID THEY GO?"

"I don't know really." Again, the boy replied with utmost nonchalance and a smile that promised sunshine and rainbows, two things that made Ichigo seriously doubt he was a part of him. "Oi, before you go making it rain again, I have to tell you something: they left for your benefit." He added in, garnering a confused expression from the emotionally unstable teenager in a child's body.

"My benefit? I'm going to lose my powers again and it's for my benefit?" Ichigo demanded, ready to launch a long stream of curses children should not be uttering. "They left me alone, like this and you..."

He was promptly cut off by a heavy blow to the chest. He didn't even see the young man move before he lashed out with a simple thrust, propelling the child through the next few buildings.

Ichigo glared at the rapidly disappearing form of the teen as he tried to stop himself, a familiar green glow appearing at his feet as he slowly came to a stop. He quickly glanced at the surroundings, knowing well that even if he was in his world, whoever spent more time there knew it better and could practically appear out of nowhere. A few dozen buildings never stopped Zangetsu anyway.

"You're lucky the concrete was already weakened or you would have been seriously hurt by that little push." Narius appeared in a flash of green, catching a feeble punch from the boy without any effort. The following kick was even easier to counter, the strength behind it worrying but made useless by the boy's current size. "This exactly why they decided to leave, you know?" He asked cryptically.

His last attack, a punch with his free hand, earned him a gentle flick to the forehead for his trouble, but it was the words of the boy that pulled him into a vortex of thought. "I have no time for riddles!"

"Then try and listen for once, why don't you?" The curt reply was quickly followed by a burst of energy, both familiar and instinctively frightening, quickly rendering boy silent. Narius sighed as he reined in his power, already unsealing enough to cause a grown man enough shock to stop his heart. "Do you remember what happened as soon as you regained your senses?"

The boy nodded quietly as memories came flooding in unbidden.

The monsters were simply blurs, but he remembered how they felt, like a Fullbringer without the conscious thought. He remembered how they swarmed, like a group of weak Hollows circling around a soul before they inevitably had their fill, and worse condemned another plus until they were purified. He remembered what they wanted to do, and how he inevitably stopped them.

His powers grew and fluctuated as he reached transcendence once more and with the weakest of attacks, he ravaged the landscape. Even without launching the fist Bala, he had enough strength to rend the earth with a simple punch and force the very wind into blades as he fought, not only to protect, but to kill. When he finally did use his Hollow powers, the collateral damage simply grew with each strike. The boulder-sized projectiles flew and only struck their intended targets, but after they did, they traveled on, no doubt carrying much of their strength even after the first strike.

When he had succumbed to his grief the first time, all he saw was black. From the safety of his inner world, he saw everything.

He had not destroyed so much after the final battle with the madman, but at that moment, even if all of the enemies were defeated and fading away, he had rendered judgment.

He condemned them.

The sheer amount of destruction his storm of Bala caused would have proven to be but a splash compared to the tidal wave of power he had unleashed on the land around them. He dared not think of what could have happened to his mother, but couldn't help but expressing his relief after seeing as even his power unconsciously mourned for her.

Just like what happened the first time he fought them in the white deserts, the trees around them, the fallen bodies of whatever creature he killed, the snow as it gently glided to the ground, all of it simply broke down and transformed into a swirling mass of energy. The storm only continued to grow as time passed, the very earth and sky screaming as they too were taken to be turned into pure power.

It was amazing his mother stayed whole by the end of it, any other soul would have been consumed in the first few seconds.

That was all he remembered before he fell into the snow, and unconsciousness.

"That was the first time you actively pulled on your mother's heritage, on your nature as one of the heirs to the Throne of the Almighty." Narius explained patiently. "The power to push, to apply pressure to an object so much so that it is crushed to pieces is truly terrifying, especially at your level, but to pull is so much more fearsome. You now have total dominance over not just reishi, but the very souls found in all things, and so empowering as well as destroying them outright is completely in your power. It takes significant control _not_ to reduce everything around you to nothingness, control you don't have."

For the first time since they met, the young man clad in the suit shot Ichigo a look that was devoid of all mirth. "You could have destroyed her soul, just as easily as you dealt with those creatures. Do you understand now, Ichigo? They left because they knew that if ever you were emotionally unstable, the amount of damage you could cause would be catastrophic. Even the ones you care about could die."

"So what am I supposed to do now?" He demanded, tears forming even as he glared helplessly at his captor. "I'm trapped in some useless body, knowing my luck, in a different dimension I don't even know and now all I have is you! I had the power, all the power I thought I needed to protected everyone, and I lost it the first time, but at least I still had them. Even without the power, at least for a moment I knew they were there! Now everyone could be gone and I don't even have the power to do anything! I couldn't even protect my own mother!"

"Remembering what the old man would always say is always a good place to start." Memories of the repeated mantra entered Ichigo's mind as soon as Naruis released him.

He breathed as words said over and over again were clear in his mind, his grief slowly fading just as the calm once more took over the inner world. He knew they rarely did things without reason, no matter how strange or roundabout those very reasons were, and this should be no exception. He knew the perfect method to ask them, but first, he needed to find the two runaway swords.

The tears faded even as the resolve returned to the child's expression, as well as the hidden intelligence he always possessed. "That's better, it didn't even rain this time. Now, from that look on your face, I'm sure you realized something. A penny for your thoughts?"

"You said you were my Fullbring, or at least what's left of it, right?" Narius nodded, the smile on his face somewhat wider as Ichigo continued. "If that's true, then I'm still alive. If I'm still in my human body, then that probably means the others are still alive too, just scattered. If both of them left, that just means I really did lose my swords before I woke up. I'll just have to find them all when I get back."

"They may not want to be found." Narius added helpfully, wistfully gazing around at the landscape as it shifted. "You know how good the Old Man is at hiding and you didn't even notice the Hollow until you almost died. How are you going to find them anyway, especially now that you're obviously lost in a new world. With those monsters out there, how are you going survive the search?"

The boy shrugged in reply. "I still have my Fullbring, if it was enough for the first Substitute, it should be enough for me. Also, spirit ribbons are much easier to follow than you think. The old man's is white but it's still pretty powerful. I'll be able to find it, but it will take some time. The Hollow's on the other hand is red, and just like mine. I'll just go find him first, then give him a piece of my mind."

"You're not even going to ask me for help, are you?" Narius shook his head wistfully at the confused boy. "I said that the Fullbring was just a part of me. What made you think that was all I was?"

"And you're just going to teach me, just like that?" Ichigo asked timidly, genuinely confused once more. "No fighting to prove my worth, no riddles and puzzles to solve, you're just going to teach me?"

"There are right answers, Ichigo, but before any of them, there are right questions. Like it or not, we are a part of you and so everything we will do will be for your benefit, no matter how drastic it may seem. Zangetsu discourages holding on to the past too much, but to remember so that one may learn is another thing entirely. Look back, then you may be able to see the reasons behind our actions."

Ichigo was quiet for a moment, the sky turning light grey as the moments dragged on between them. One would think the rain would fall anew if a child's laughter didn't ring out like a bell, just before the clouds broke and the sun shined in earnest. The understanding had finally been reached, and for the first time, Ichigo Kurosaki was at peace with himself, accepting who he was in it's entirety.

"They actually explained themselves before I lost them the first time, but I think you were there to see it. 'The thing I always wanted to protect was you,' they both said just before they gave up. They did it again when I finally realized that they were both parts of Zangetsu, that they were both, me." Ichigo explained before stretching out his hand, a familiar straight falchion appearing just as he grasped air. "I'll be in your care then, Narius."

He took a simple stance, prepared to battle or at the very least learn like all the times he had visited his inner world, but his newest spirit seemed to have something else in mind.

With a simple gesture, a curt wave of the hand, Narius dismissed the sword. "Not now, maybe as soon as you get your affairs in order. I do suggest you wake up though, someone is waiting for you."

Narius simply smiled as he watched the boy excitedly fade away from his own inner world, glad that he was finally alone once more. "Narius has always been the name of the armor you wear, by the way, and I used to be White even before you were even born. I just hope you never have to discover my true name. If you do, the ocean might return and the rain may never cease."

With his piece echoing into the abandoned city, dancing through endless skyscrapers, he disappeared with nary a whisper.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Can we talk?" A nervous pensive voice broke the comfortable silence an in an instant, the warm atmosphere turned frigid.

He awakened amidst a familiar warmth, the smell of flowers and the ocean breeze, and the words of his newest tenant still fresh in his mind. He couldn't help but smile as arms too small to remember struggled to return the warm embrace, something he hadn't experienced after a decade past. A soft content hum escaped his lips as he felt her form shift to hold him closer.

It had been too long since he had woken up like this, such a long time that the last few years, the entire decade seemed like a convoluted nightmare. And as it ended, as it finally ended, he woke up again, as a child, in the arms of the one he just _knew _to be his mother. Like all those years ago, it was her presence that comforted him, that assured him that everything would be alright.

She always knew what to say, what to do so that the sun would return to their lives, his and his family's. With her around, they were all happy, they were all content, no matter how annoying his dad would be, how many people looked down on him and tried to bully him, no matter how bad any and every situation seemed. Their lives truly revolved around her and her alone, and none of them cared until she left them. But none of that mattered anymore, because she was back. In that moment, Ichigo promised himself that no matter what, he would never lose her again.

Then she spoke, with a tone that betrayed uncertainty and doubt, and he realized that he just did.

In the span of a day, he reunited with his mother, only to have an uncrossable chasm laid out between them.

The one he knew as Mother was gone.

Ever since he met Yūichi and sent that despicable Hollow straight to Hell, he devoured any and every piece of information he could find regarding the Soul Burial and Sublimation, everything regarding the ceremony of passing into Soul Society he absorbed almost religiously. After the situation with Uryū, he began reasoning that knowing everything about the true workings of the balance was paramount, using that it was both a barrier to differentiate the Shinigami from the Quincy and a way to understand just how Hollows were purified along with the souls they consumed.

He never once acknowledged that it was all done in a desperate, misplaced hope that he could one day find his mother in the afterlife.

The obsession ended when he finally defeated the Hollow, something in the back of his mind knowing that any Shinigami worth their salt would easily deal with the severely weakened Hollow.

He knew he could have easily scoured Rukongai for his mother after that, but fate had other ideas, and the Winter War unfolded even before he could try. He knew it was part of the reason that even if the final clash with the madman took place in Soul Society, he forced them to move to a place suitably isolated from any life save for massive trees scattered among the sheer cliffs. Deep inside, it was also one of the reasons why he broke as hard as he did when he realized he would lose his powers, that he would no longer even _see _spirits.

That was the final barrier between them, one that spanned not only the space of dimensions but two separate lifetimes.

He regained his powers, but the feeble hope that grew with their return, the small hope that he would see her again was quickly crushed when the Thousand Year War resumed. That hope was thoroughly dashed when he entered the Palace of the Soul King, the Royal Realm, and learned of the true nature of the Quincies.

They were massacred because of they destroyed the very souls of the Hollows they killed, as well as any and every soul the beast consumed before their deaths. The act itself was monstrous, that they possessed the ability that could eradicate countless souls, but the fact that they were human made them all the more terrifying. He knew first hand that for some reason, human souls were much more malleable, much more inclined to change and grow stronger. That combination made them a threat the Gotei 13 just could not ignore.

The massacre was sad, but it was not as bad as it could have been. Ichigo could not condone such action, but he would admit that it was better than the alternatives: the Quincies being allowed to kill Hollows, destroying souls left and right and eventually ruin the balance, or that the Quincies would grow too strong and win the war, massacring the Gotei 13 before the world itself crumbled.

But the fact that the Quincies died was a problem. They were spiritually aware and the majority of who fought must have been at least at par with any unseated Shinigami in the field. Greater spiritual power meant a higher chance of retaining memories form the time they lived, but if that was the case, then the Soul Society should have been trapped in Civil war as soon as the Quincies were massacred.

If a mildly spiritually aware boy could remember what had happened to him, then humans with higher spiritual power should be able to know even more from when they lived.

In fact, there was nothing but peace for centuries after the Quincies were dealt with, posing a simple question.

How could they just accept the fact that they were killed in cold blood after doing what they simply thought was right?

The answer came in a form of a machine the size of a lighter, but instead of producing flame, it ejects a silly bird-like model attached to a spring within a small puff of smoke.

The truth fell upon him harder than any attack.

They couldn't act simply because they didn't remember what happened to them.

It made sense the more he thought about it. He was never the strategy genius but then even he would want to keep his enemy down as soon as they lost, especially if killing them wasn't an option. Like what he eventually did with Zangetsu, turning an enemy into a friend was one of the best ways not only to deal with a potentially powerful foe, but to also increase one's own power.

Every Quincy killed by a Shinigami would be purified and reincarnated as all souls should, but to remove all risk, all the memories they could retain would be purged from them completely.

And so, even if it was his father who eventually avenged his mother by purifying Grand Fisher, it was that same act that separated them forever.

If ever he did find her, he knew for sure that she would not recognize him.

So when she spoke, practically proclaiming that she didn't know him, his heart broke. She must have seen it too, since she remained silent, though the warm embrace tightening was something he would never have expected. "Hush, it's okay now. Those big bad monsters won't come in here and hurt you anymore... Though I guess I should be comforting them if that's what your scared of."

He knew he should hold himself back, that he no longer had the right to do so, but through a veil of flowing tears he looked up to see the smile that made his life bearable, the very same smile that made his life hell as soon as he lost it's radiance. He could only cling to the childish hope that she was smiling at him, and that she was here with him. He couldn't help himself as he let out a hoarse laugh at her joke.

"Thank you, though I think we should talk about something more serious for the moment." Again his heart sank as soon as those words snaked its way into his ears. He felt pain lancing through his entire body as each time his heart beat it was like there was glass cutting through every inch of him. It was cold, like he was dumped back out into the wilderness, but he was feeling the heat, as if he was thrust into the sun, or worse, the Captain Commander's Bankai. He felt it rain inside him as he quivered, whatever left of his inner world crumbling into a state of disarray.

He knew she would soon say words he never wanted to hear.

"_Who are you?" _

And of course, he would answer, try as he might to convince her but he knew that as soon as she asks him that, she was gone. They could bond again, they could be together again along with his entire family. They could be reunited with everyone, but deep down, he knew that if she forgot everything, she was lost to them forever. It could never be the same again.

Before, he knew that he there was a chance he would enter this conversation if he ever confronted his mother, assuming he did find her in the first place, but back in the beginning it was a chance.

After the visit to the Royal Realm, he knew that if he even did speak to his mother, there would only be questions, lacking any and all recognition.

He was about to release her, about to use all the power he had recovered to flee from her, to spare her his own infinite sadness before her embrace tightened, as if she sensed that he was about to run from her. He was trapped now, no force in the world would ever be strong enough to force him to fight his own mother, so he buried his face in her chest, just so she could not see him as he cried quietly.

The tears in his eyes were threatening to fall as he clutched on to her for dear life, simply waiting for the rejection that he knew would come. He knew he was pathetic, that he used his form to his advantage, to finally embrace the mother he had lost for the final time. He knew she would not refuse him, at least not outright for he wore the form of a child, so he clung to her, relishing the last time.

Then she spoke. "We should really work on your self preservation instincts, or at the very least, your listening skills..." Her voice was barely a sweet whisper, in a tone that was so serious that he couldn't help but open his eyes and stare dumbly at darkness that was between his eyes and the tear-stained fabric of his mother's clothes. He was so lost he didn't even register the feeling as she squeezed tighter. "I really thought you were going to die."

To say he was shocked was an understatement. He couldn't even think as soon as he heard those words. For the second time in his entire life, he simply broke.

"But you don't even know anything about me." He replied weakly, the grief, the helplessness in his voice a sharp contrast to the power he displayed when defending her. He didn't fight her, he could never fight her, but there was a feeling in his chest, a sickening sensation demanding he stop, roaring that what he was doing was wrong. "Why would you care?"

He expected questions, confusion and hesitation, but instead he was met by a soft chuckle and the familiar feeling of fingers gliding through his hair. "Yeah, I guess I don't know anything about you." She replied easily, resignation evident even as she sighed. "I don't know your name, I don't know where you come from, I don't know what brought you here, I don't even know if you're real. But I do care."

"Then why?" He sputtered, peeking upward so he could see her tranquil smile.

"We're stuck together now, so we might as well make the most of it. Besides, no matter what I don't know there is one thing you can't really change. Somewhere, out there in the snow, I found a little boy with orange hair, and as soon as I saw him, I knew one thing. 'Here's my little boy'. Other than that, there's nothing I need to know." She seemed sure, but the way she bit her lip was telling. "Okay fine, just stop looking at me like that." She chided him gently, playfully tapping his nose as to stop him from staring. "There is just one little thing I need from you, my little strawberry..."

"Strawberry?" Ichigo blurted out, less annoyed and more surprised than usual.

"Do you see how red you are? Just like a little strawberry." She tittered lightly before putting on a thoughtful pout. "But then I thought, 'I don't think anyone would want to be called Strawberry unless she was a girl' so I wanted to know if you were alright with it, or if you already have a name. It's not nice to name someone with a name anyway, and I already have one too, so now we can exchange..."

He laughed as soon as he recovered from his reflexive outrage at his name being misinterpreted, by accident no less. He couldn't help it; he was just that happy and for once in his life, he thought he understood his father's stupidly idiotic naming skills. It was strange for him to think about one of his most shameful feature and at the same time most apt description came to be: his own name.

Yes, it meant 'One who Protects' or 'Number One Protector' but then again, it was also meant Strawberry.

He always thought it was his bastard of a dad being his stupid self when he finally, by the age of thirteen, realized he and his siblings were named after fruit. Seriously, no one who earned enough credentials to be called a proper doctor should be that stupid and make a mistake not just once, but thrice; it was just common sense.

Seeing her expression, he couldn't help but think his father did so on purpose, just to make her smile. He couldn't help but feel a little less humiliated, a little less angry when he thought about it like that.

"So, Strawberry it is?" She asked coyly, perfectly blending expectation and light sarcasm as she ruffled his hair affectionately. "If you don't mind then I'll go first. Hello, Strawberry, I'm your new mommy."

"My name's Ichigo," He leaned into her touch, still wanting to make sure, make absolutely certain, that he wasn't dreaming. He wanted this moment to be real forever. "Nice to have you back Mom."

The smiles on their faces were enough to light up day, so much so that the first rays of the sunrise looked stygian in comparison.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Ichigo-dono, you're not panicking?" A voice, more akin to the rumbling of thunder or a volcanic eruption practically shook the pair from their stupor as a familiar form entered the room.

_Wait, room?_ Ichigo thought to himself before quickly scanning the area, rubbing his eyes for good measure just to ascertain he was not hallucinating.

The room was tastefully arranged, with the hard walls painted a homey forest green while the tatami mats colored much lighter to serve as complement. The thin shogi doors were aglow with dim light behind them while the high ceiling was almost shadowy in contrast, being comprised of planks stained with the color of sable. The room itself was very plain, the only decorations Ichigo could truly see were a fresh picture hanging on an adjacent wall while a flower, giving off a light aroma, sat in a vase below it. The memory of the room almost slipped his mind, until his eyes rested on a familiar figure.

There was a man sanding in the corner, much like he sat a lifetime ago, dressed in a more traditional garb, a simple black kimono. If when he sat, he was large, he was towering with both feet planted on the ground, almost intimidating if it weren't for the strange, silly smile playing on his lips. His eyes, usually hidden behind glass frames, spoke of relief more than anything, and a slight hint of amusement.

_What's so funny?_ Ichigo would have given voice his question, until, of course, the memory of the strange room rushed back.

The walls were drabber back then, and the doors less bright with the shadow of war looming over them. The flower was almost wilting while the painting was molding slowly but surely. The only life he could remember in the room was his, when it was saved. Still, he wished that no one would ever have to wake up like that again. More than what Urahara ever did, that event scarred him.

The relief he felt when someone he knew was before him was evermore powerful though.

But, some concerns took precedence.

"Where is he, Tessai-san?" Ichigo asked evenly, with the calm a child should not posses while the large man took a step forward. "If you're here, then he should be somewhere nearby, so where is he?"

"You know this man, Ichi?" His mother asked, not even the least bit surprised as he started talking to the ex-captain.

"He helped me and a friend out back then. He made sure I was well enough to move whenever something happened. I just wished he was better at waking people up." Ichigo replied almost wistfully before looking back up at Tessai. "Thanks for taking care of my mother and I, Tessai-san, really, but I need to see Urahara. If everything's like this, then he should be doing something about it already."

"I can't find him myself, Ichigo-dono" The giant replied evenly, taking a seat across the mother and child pair. "It was just pure luck that I found you two a few miles out but other than that, It has just been myself, Ururu and Jinta in this small village. I have yet to meet Kisuke, Yoruichi, your father, or anyone ever since the incident. Venturing out was out of the question as the village needs some sort of defense against those monstrous creatures."

"Grimm." Aki muttered ruefully, drawing all eyes to her. "Monsters fueled by negative energy and their hunger for mankind. We don't know what they want, where they came from, how they came to be and what they are, but they have been there since the beginning. They fight mankind for no reason other than the fact that we exist and we have souls. It's very noble of you to protect the village, Tessai-san." When Ichigo shot her the same questioning look, she simply replied. "We talked for a bit while you slept, dear. Nothing too heavy and it looks like you trust him anyway."

"How long?" He asked with a sigh, not even caring what the reply would be. Well, it would not stop him from going out and trying to fix things, it was his mess after all.

"Thirty years, not as long as one might think, but not enough to call down heaven's might, Ichigo-dono." Tessai replied with good humor, most likely sensing the anger coming from the bright-haired child. "We have gotten by as it is and no large scale threats have been called to my attention in all that time. If anything this is a cause for celebration, you are still alive and those who seek us harm are not."

"So they're gone, no more hope of them coming back?" The giant among them nodded, the smile on his face less weary. "Then there's still one thing I need to take care off. You're the only one left who knows them well enough to know the feel of their reiatsu. We're going look for them." The determination in his voice was admirable, unshakable and outright inspiring.

So his surprise was all the more apparent when the old captain shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot aid you in your quest, Ichigo-dono..."

"Not yet, Tessai-san." Ichigo said with quite determination, cutting off the older man, much to the visible chagrin of his mother. "I'm just a kid now, and I can't take my mom with me on something like this. I lost her once, I'm not going to lose her again. I'll go and hunt them down myself if I have to, just as long as she stays safe."

"Wait just one minute, young man." Aki interjected, twisting her son on her lap so that he looked up at her. "Unless its somewhere I can't follow you, you're not leaving my side till you're a teen. Got it?"

"But mom, this is something only I can..." the boy was once more cut of when his mother ruffled his hair.

"Got it, Ichigo?" She repeated, just as gently.

"Mom..."

"Ichigo?"

The room turned frigid as both captain as substitute recognized the tone and smile of the new mother wore. It spoke of gentleness and compassion though the undertone was that of the most powerful swordsman to have ever blessed the ranks of the Shinigami. Her smile was radiant and beautiful, but then again, she possessed the aura of a trained killer, not of man, but a killer nonetheless.

Both men quivered in fear as the image of the late captain of the fourth division superimposed itself on the image of the woman before them.

The child couldn't help but nod dumbly while the man broke out into a cold sweat.

They were under no illusion that she was more powerful than them. They both knew, somewhere deep inside them, that they were more powerful compared to the golden-haired woman.

The image was just that frightful that they were afraid to try and prove it.

"You were telling Tessai-san what you needed, Ichigo." His mother snapped him out of his trance as he once again saw his mother instead of that dreadful captain.

"Right... Um, Tessai-san, I need you to teach me Kidō." The child asked, the bright blush on his cheeks taking away any impact his request might have brought...

...and replacing it with nothing but mirth. To the ex-captain's credit, he didn't let out so much as a chuckle, only a quirked eyebrow betrayed his reaction. "But I thought you didn't plan to learn it after..."

"I know what I said." He quickly amended, knowing that Tessai would often remained him of exactly what he said, much like Urahara did when they argued.

_Ichigo simply let out a string of curses that would make a sailor blush for an entire minute, without repeating himself once. The cause of the strange occurrence was the fact that he did, in fact, suck more that Renji did when it came to this particular art of the Shinigami. Even as the pineapple managed to blow himself up on several occasions, every time Ichigo would try to cast any spell, it would affect everything in the area, everything in sight, but the target itself. Even the most basic of spells, Sai, had everyone in the entire shop incapacitated except his target, in that particular case, Renji himself._

"But that was before, when I had to get stronger as fast as possible the only way I knew how. I got stronger, sure, but I could never control it as well as I should have. If I had any form of control in the first place then I wouldn't have even been sucked into that whole mess." He grated out, defeated, meeting a wall of glass with resolve that could shatter time itself. "But we didn't have time then, and I can't change that, not anymore. I won't make that same mistake twice, Tessai-san, I will protect everything properly this time, starting with my mom, and everyone else who's out there."

There was silence for the moment while the old captain thought and the child waited.

Then the man stood.

"I should get tea ready then, Ichigo-dono." He made for the door before turning to the pair for one last time. "One does perform Kidō better when the mind is calm." Ichigo would have shouted thanks like the child he was if not for the last words of the old captain before he departed. "That being said, I wish you the best of luck explaining the situation to your mother."

With the closing of the door, a slow shiver racked Ichigo's spine, intensifying as the smile of a killer played at his mother's lips. He had honestly forgotten that she was in the room when he spoke of events long past, events a child should have no business participating in. With his current stature of a five year old coupled with the way he referred to such events, it was easy to misunderstand the situation.

No sane mother would act rationally when they think random strangers were using their child as a weapon, much less if she thinks the child was less than three years old when they did it.

"I can explain." He began weakly, drawing a slow nod for his mother as he silently began cursing whoever replaced the Soul King or whatever god now ruled the dimensions

Sometimes he wished he could go back up there and cut whoever it was to pieces, at least this time he would do it on purpose.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Bored, bored, bored..." An eerie voice echoed throughout the forest, twisting through gnarled wood, a labyrinth of branches and bloodstained leaves. The sounds of suffering, groans and whimpers replaced screams of terror and pain as time went by, until once again, only the predator remained with the ability to speak. "Seriously, can you guys be any weaker?"

Deep into the forests, in the exact center in fact, stood what appeared to be a young man, sitting in the center of several bodies, screaming at them as he twirled a flare gun in his hand. All around him, weapons lay scattered, from the most basic swords and clubs to strange firearms that could shift forms as the wielder pleased. It did them no good as they were quickly dispatched, by an unarmed teenager no less, and so they waited, for whatever their executioner had in store for them. Robbed of any strength they had, even to beg for their lives, they could only wait for judgment.

"Even those wannabes put up a better fight that you freaks! Gah! Even talking shit to you guys is boring! I'm getting out of here, hope your friends get to you before those fucking fakes do." He screamed in frustration, shooting a flare upward just as he began walking away, back into the forest were he knew monsters were waiting.

He had no idea what to feel about those... things, but at least they were more interesting then the weird cosplayers.

The wannabes were weak, small fry, almost not worth his time when he first met one of their kind. They were annoying too, one that looked like a mutant bear rushing up at him and trying to bite his entire head off. Of course, he didn't even need any special technique to dispatch them, just catching the thing's jaw and tearing it apart was easy enough to do. It was just boring to him, considering everything he fought.

They were persistent little shits, he'd give them that. They just never quit chasing him no matter what happened. From the moment her first met one, they would come at him, a new one appearing each time he dispatched the next without fail. The longest he had gone without one of them either trying to kill him or dead at his feet was an hour, from daybreak to nightfall, they would come and he would kill.

It was fun at first, he would admit that, but then after what seemed to be the thousandth, it started to become grating. It began routine, one would appear then he would punch it and it would explode before another finds him again. Rinse and repeat until the world decides to end... again.

They did not stop, as much as it irked him, so he simply explored, trying to ignore the monsters that had no hope against him. He looked around, trying to find out where he was, actually doing something other that killing. He was amazed himself when he realized he started really _thinking_.

He had thought before, but it was short term. Will we survive? Should we fight? Should we run? The little things, the things that should come intuitively, with answers that are simple and direct. Imagine his surprise when he thought about experimenting, when he asked what would happen if he took an action or didn't take an action.

It was strange, almost wrong, but definitely not unwelcome. He was so bored that he decided to roll with it, thinking it was a simple whim and well within his nature.

That was when he discovered something else about the creatures he fought. They were delicious.

Yes, that was he asked himself: Could he eat one of them? It turned out that he could, which made the actual act of killing them much less annoying than it was before he found out that particular piece of information. He could only eat them alive though, since like him, they faded when they 'died'.

They were somewhat nutritious too, giving him a small boost of power whenever he consumed one of them. It was nothing special, more akin to adding small droplets into an ocean far more expansive than any and all in existence combined, but if it could apply to him, then it might be applicable to more... human creatures. Even if he got practically nothing from the infinitesimal increase of power, maybe others could harness such a phenomenon. He sardonically thought that a certain annoying bucket hatted scientist would have been proud.

The most interesting thing he learned from devouring them, as well as the worrying was the fact that they were soulless.

They had something that just didn't make sense, something that should not be, an affront to existence itself.

They gave him power, no matter how pathetic, it was still there, and the power he wielded was one branching from the very soul. It should stand that if he took power from them, they should have a source of that power akin to his, they should also have a soul. But they didn't and they still were, they actually existed and that should not happen.

Even the most useless things had souls, from stones to water to the air he didn't need to breathe. Metal had souls, such was also true with bullets and clothing and weapons and even large buildings. Everything that exists should have a soul, no matter how big or small, how sentient or simply dormant. It should still be there, waiting to be used or drawn, not completely absent.

But again, that was what occurred every time he devoured one of them, power and... nothing. There was no soul, so sliver of a consciousness, no being of pure instinct, just simple power.

It made even less sense when he could swear they felt like they were run by _instinct_ when they were still trying to kill him.

He didn't dwell on it too much, that was a task for conscious thought when they met again, not for primal instinct and bloodlust. So he continued to eat and slowly, painfully slowly, he gained power.

And then he met what looked to be sentient people. It was not the best of meetings, considering the fact that even before he could utter anything, they struck.

There were about two dozen of them, all of them wearing strange masks and bearing a strange emblem, and they all were armed. It didn't do them any good, but of course, he held back. He knew that these were beings of reason, and that if they were there, in such a dangerous place, there might be a chance that maybe others would come. He smiled beneath his mask as he took care of them with ease.

In an instant, they were down, knocked off their feet by a flurry of blows and a hurricane of sounds. If one listened closely, there was just one buzz, one static noise that rung out before the flurry of blows landed, quickly taking care of any opposition he would have met. He disappeared soon after, walking back into the shadows, but he watched and waited, far from the soft light of the flare he launched.

He smiled as more came after a few minutes, apparent fear rolling off them in waves as they collected their comrades and began their journey back to whence they came.

None of them noticed the demon stalking them, a figure in a pain while robe with a mask that could terrify the most dreaded of monsters.

* * *

**AN**

**Second Chapter out on time! YAY! That was something, double digit favorites and follows, more than I expected. 3 reviews (3 more than expected) are nice too, makes my job of optional replying all the easier.**

**gunzen: He will be strong, just a bit more controlled. if he just went all out all the time, then there would be no story, but if you guys think Ichigo will at one point be nearly as whimpy as Jaune, no offence buddy, then you're in for a surprise. He's strong, yeah, but he will have something holding him back. I'll try to keep the battles balanced as possible, but then again strength isn't everything.**

**Bl4ze777: Too early to tell really. He has a physical age of 5 and he hasn't really met any of them yet. He will and when he does, we can talk about something as far as that.**

**Guest: Dang it man! Why?! I mean yeah I appreciate the review, but I asked people specifically not to give away that plot point. Now that it's out there though I'll add the character tag. Thanks for the complement all the same. Hope you enjoy the next ones.**

**Okay then if everything is taken care of, please feed me some more reviews just so I know what you guys think and I hope to be back with a fresh one next week. If anyone wants to beta, I have the worst grammar in the class after all, please inform me. Thanks again for the support, having people appreciating the work is very nice. If you guys like this one, then the next one should contain a bit more action, and less feels, I think. We shall see.**

**This has been Proccit**

**Bye Bye! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Monsters and Demons**

* * *

"Can someone explain why this is happening, again?" Aki all but whined, ironic since she was the eldest of the trio, as Ichigo continued to stare up at the person standing before him.

For all intents and purposes, Narius simply continued smiling down at his 'landlord'. It was obvious that they had been dueling for some time, yet it was strange to see neither sporting any evidence usually accompanying the exercise. Aside from the glares they threw at each other, neither seemed any worse for wear, or even winded

Both were pristine, not even a trace of dirt on the child's immaculate kimono, and even less on the young man's shining suit, though the area around them was a different story entirely.

Gashes ran through the clearing, as rubble lay scattered among what was left of several trees. Both savage tears and surprisingly precise incisions could be seen running through the landscape, though it could not be said if they were produced by the short sword in the hand of the child or the young man's twin blades.

On the other hand, the scorch marks, evidence of the elements playing among the trees could have only come form one source. Shattered planes of light, cut rope and crumbling pillars were all but fading away while light frost was melting and dying embers frizzled out of existence. Even the residual power that fueled such strange occurrences could still be felt, flowing from the little boy like a rushing river.

It had been nearly a quarter of a year since he began learning all he could from the Master of the Demon Arts, and in that time, his instructor ensured that he absorbed all the knowledge and wisdom the old captain had to offer. From the conventional spells, the ones actually ranked from 1 to 99 in terms of difficulty and lethality, to those with effects too powerful that they were considered forbidden to use, the basics of Kidō in its entirety was ingrained into him. It was only thanks to his tenacity, his resolve and his strange growth rate that he was able to learn everything Tessai taught him.

The road to that point, however, was very far from a walk in the park.

They very lesson of reining in his power so that it could be molded into a spell was a herculean task in itself seeing as even attempting to control his power amounted to taking account of a veritable atmosphere. He managed to do so eventually; after learning how to create a Spiritual Limiter and applying it to himself a few times, his power was at least diminished enough to control, even as it reached transcendence.

As it turned out, the problem of controlling such an obscene amount of energy was easily solved as soon as he started learning the higher ranked spells. He took to learning Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō like a fish to water, or more specifically, a certain noble captain and his potent Byakurai. Though, he did avoid using those spells considering the whole point of learning the Demon Arts was trying to control his power, not allow him to create more destruction than he was already able to.

After the veritable canyon they had to refill after using that particular spell the first time, they focused more on the little things, like perfecting Sai and Sho. As fate would have it, those where the spells he had most difficulty in, a simple bind and the lightest of pushes. If his father's Oni Dekopin was anything to marvel at, Ichigo's Sho did make it look like a simple finger flick.

So day in and day out, they practiced. Hours were spent creating and renewing seals, from the mandatory Spiritual limiter to the ones that would have killed Aizen from the inside if he did not evolve. He drilled the higher spells until he could perform them under the most compromising circumstances with the control of a master, while he molded his reiatsu until it could be easily sensed by those around him.

The biggest breakthrough he achieved though, as well as the most effective way to limit his strength despite the seals he had compounded on himself, was the cause of the mess that plagued the clearing.

He found a way to keep the spirit inside his inner world manifested, indefinitely.

As a prerequisite to learning Bankai, the ultimate technique a Shinigami could achieve, to manifest spirits that dwelt in the inner world was a taxing experience. It was taking a large amount of power and giving it form, as well as maintaining that form through sheer force of will. Lesser Shinigami could only maintain the Spirit's existence for about a minute if at all, before collapsing due to exhaustion. The more powerful Shinigami could do so for hours and maybe even days at a time. This is when they learn to actually release the full potential of their Zanpakutō, for a decade on average.

Not even the Captain Commander could maintain his Spirit for more than a few weeks consecutively, even after he had learned the Bankai.

For someone of Ichigo's strength, doing so indefinitely was tiring, but definitely not impossible.

Such a decision also allowed him to learn more about his Fullbring, and by extension, his Hollow and Quincy powers. It also gave him, much to his mother's chagrin, a very _very _good sparring partner.

His swords, the two who when combined made Zangetsu, didn't count considering they found a way to _escape_ his inner world with out so much as a by your leave.

"We were just practicing, Aki-sama." Narius chimed in almost reverently before disappearing in a flash of yellow and reappearing inches before Ichigo, his right blade prepared to fly upwards for a vicious uppercut. "Your guard is still open by the way, Ichigo." With the warning said, the blade blurred before a gale tore through the clearing with such ferocity that it was amazing Ichigo didn't streak away.

It was quite the opposite, the little boy being found holding the elegant blade back with his own small falchion as the dust settled. The look the boy had was simply murderous, as well as the only sign he gave the young man before a flash of blue illuminated the clearing, an unnamed Getsuga Tenshō carving another trench through the earth, pushing back the smiling enigma even as he blocked.

Another flurry of blows rained down as Ichigo cleared the distance, the air itself bending to his command when he walked on nothing and made a beeline for the Fullbring. His arms, his clothes, the air, everything he could clutch and control was directed in such a manner that his strike would be at it's zenith, and that finally he would be able to beat whatever Narius was.

It was not to be.

"Still not good enough." Ichigo's eyes widened, his instincts egging him to sidestep just as a blade descended from behind, bisecting the space he stood in the moment earlier. Just as easily, his haphazard horizontal was dodged, just as the Spirit took the air after narrowly dodging another blindingly fast slash. He stood on the air, grinning as he raised his sword and the pressure in the area increased.

A second sun appeared in the middle of the forest, just above the canopy while on below it, harsh azure illuminated the forest floor in preparation. If one was to look between them, they would see both wearing a challenging smile, almost eager to unleash their strength against the other in a bout to see who truly was more powerful.

The two waves of energy would have torn down a large portion of the landscape if a familiar voice didn't reach their ears. "Well you two can continue training later, it's time for lunch!"

Almost immediately, the sound of a beast shook the air giving even the two fearsome warriors pause. "See you two were so busy tearing up the place you both forgot to eat." Aki chided, using the tone most children would cow at immediately. "Come down, Narius and take Ichi with you. I have a bento for each of us, the ones Tessai-san was kind enough to give us before we left."

"I don't need to eat, Aki-sama..." The temperature dropped just a bit as the matriarch of the broken family shifted her gaze to the spirit. "Never mind, thanks for the meal!"

Ichigo had to keep himself from laughing, lest he suffer his mother's smiling wrath. So he directed his attention on the strange cube she retrieved from a small pouch she wore and watched in wonder as she did what she always did when she brought out the alien object.

It looked like a regular old cube at first glance or from afar, but after closer inspection, one could see it was so much more. To the orange-haired child, it was like someone made another _Hōgyoku_ and made it into a cube, and yet it lacked the sheer presence of the wish granting sphere. From it's cubic form, it expanded, forming what seemed to be a rectangular portal where his mother reached in and pulled three lunch boxes from. With its purpose served, it collapsed upon itself, back into a cube before Aki hid it away once more.

Tessai said it was an invention of the madman to begin with, a prison to hold his most dangerous prisoners or even some fallen Espada if they ever chose to defect for any reason. Commonsense dictated that even Nel would have been held in that torturous pocket dimension if it was found that she was not killed so it quite strange to know they were using a prison as a handbag.

Though, he found that he couldn't argue with the convenience of it all.

"You guys want some too?" The smile on her face was no longer one that could stun a Vastro Lorde into silence as she spoke to a trio of cowering figures bound to the remains of a tree. "I'm sure there's still enough for everyone until we get to the nearest village." She was met with no reply as the fallen tree was pulled upright, the green glow surrounding them doing nothing to encourage them to speak.

They were frightened enough as it was, blatant displays of power just seemed to make it worse.

"Come on now, no need to be rude." Narius chuckled as he lowed his hand, banishing the green light of Soul Manipulation as he regarded the three captives with nothing but mirth. "You three did try to attack us back there. I think we're being quite fair offering you lunch, and not using you as punching bags when the kid needs to train up a bit. At least answer the lady."

"We owe you nothing, human wenc..." The words died in the throat of the one who dared speak out as the point of a glowing blue falchion occupied his entire vision. He swallowed nervously as the pressure was raised just a bit, and the blade began to flicker from blue to murderous crimson. His eyes traced upwards, from the glowing blade to the child who held it, the same child who bested them.

A child who defeated them utterly in just two moves.

Ichigo himself was one word away from firing his signature technique and ending the lives of three who dared try and end him.

Thinking back, the day started out quite normally before everything went to hell.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Did they really have to send us to scout?" A voice, deep and definitely masculine grumbled a complaint under his breath as he continued walking through dense forest.

"You scared, newbie?" Another voice, lighter and feminine, asked before a forced chuckle flowed from her lips. "It's okay, cub. I'll protect you from the bid bad monster."

It had been a few days since the last patrol had to be carried back due to an attack, again; what exactly attacked them was still trying to be uncovered. They had some information to go on, as the attacks had been going on for months, and the higher ups had long since been itching to put whoever was responsible on a stick. Preferably still alive.

Fact one: It was definitely not a creature of Grimm. It left its prey alive, that much was telling. Even the eldest of them, the smartest of the soulless monsters that plague human and faunus alike, would kill their prey, if not for nourishment then for the simple act of it. That meant it could be anything, from some underground organization to the military of any of the four Kingdoms that they moved to topple.

Fact two: It was humanoid and intelligent. After some information gathering on the part of the operatives taken down, it was revealed that none of them fired the flare. The attacker always did. Further scrutiny also revealed that many of the survivors, all survived the attack by the way, agreed on a common description of the attacker. Again and again they insisted on what they saw, every one of them.

Some problems started as the description itself was analyzed.

All of them _swore_ on the masks they wore, on their very pride as one of the harbingers of change that they were struck down by a demon. It wore a mask like all the creatures of Grimm did, but that was where the similarities ended. It's eyes were golden, of either the harsh midday sun or the sulfurous flames bursting from hell itself, while it had the horns and teeth of a demon from a children's story book. It wore a robe of the purest white lined with the shade rivaling the soulless depths Grimm were famous for though it was the only article of clothing it possessed.

Its hands were clawed, made of slashing and rending, but it dispatched them with punches, more akin to love taps when they watched it annihilate the very ground in it's rage. It's feet were the same, as one would profess when he was helpless as he was choked with the clawed talons. It's strength was unreal, enough to clear the ground and form craters that could contain train cars in a singe punch, while it's speed was even more terrifying, allowing it to _simultaneously_ strike an entire team of two dozen, in a single instant.

Though all of them agreed, that no matter how petrifying the demon was, the aspect that tied it all together was it's voice. It spoke with the voice of a child. They refused to say anything after that.

Even on pain of death, they were convinced that the monster, the devil itself, would find them eventually and do them in.

Some would even take time to remind the interrogator that such attacks had been happening for months.

They were not stripped of their rank, they were much too good for that, but they were put out of commission until they could find whatever caused some of the more hardened veterans of combat to simply cow at the mention of it. The White Fang needed every able faunus for their cause, it was a given that they would not take such a crippling blow to their ranks doing nothing about it.

"I don't need you to protect me, damned fox." The man snarled as he reached for a blade on his back, all the while glaring daggers at a masked woman.

"Tukson, Claire, do you two mind postponing your lover's spat for later and not trying to attract the attention of a possible threat that could annihilate us all?" A third voice, less gruff voice came from a man shorter than the both of them, in a commanding tone that would have convinced them if not for a pair of glasses sitting in front of a pale grey mask.

"Can it, Perry." Tukson growled before turning back to Claire. "And you, why don't you just focus on the mission?"

"Aww, but I am cub." She all but cooed as slitted eyes soon stared into the barrel of twin pistols. "I've been here since the start of the revolution. If those old coots were taken down by some wannabe vigilante then they were just going senile. Nothing that gets in my sights gets out alive." Just as quickly, her hands were empty while a pat on the back sounded. "Relax a bit, you'll live longer."

"Warned you." Perry quipped one last time as Claire simply sauntered away, Tukson reduced to mumbling curses under his breath as he lagged behind the two.

Still, he was quite thankful for the silence that ensued, and for the fact that his two companions, despite their own eccentricities, were finally starting to take their jobs seriously.

Of the three of them, his tracking skills were the keenest. The smells and sounds of the forest almost overwhelmed him as they searched, but for one as learned as he was in the ways of the hunt, it was as simple as looking for a set of armor in his closest. He knew they would never hear it coming, but the strange smell that clung to the survivors, and the strange force of aura that seemed to still cling to them after days would reveal their quarry. Though, secretly, he wished they found nothing of the sort. The sooner they could confirm that the thing was gone, the better for everyone.

Claire was a vixen, both literally and figuratively. She was sultry, sensual and to a degree that would unnerve the entire organization, from the eldest of members to the newest of recruits, but her skill with a firearm was undeniable. She possessed wit that could cut razors and sight that was even sharper, never failing to kill whoever was deemed a threat to their cause. From creatures of Grimm, to select few human foes, she boasted one of the highest kill statistics in the White Fang, earning the same name among the ranks of some of the lower ranked members.

If she said she could kill whatever that attacked them, more than likely she was telling the truth.

Perry was another story entirely, being arguably the weakest of the three of them. Tukson had decent hand to hand combat skills and the muscle to match while Claire was incomparable at a distance, the last of them was simply average in terms of fighting skills. He was there just in case Claire failed to take down the unknown threat, the diplomat of the group. He looked to be the youngest of them and rarely speaks, but as soon as he opens his mouth, his eloquence moves those who hear. When dealing with parties outside the organization, he is one of those sent as ambassador.

Though with all their skill, only Claire was considered a veteran among them, and that was the source of Tukson's discomfort.

It was perfectly sane to imagine a monster taking down an entire scouting party would be able to take down two recruits and one veteran. So when they heard an artificial noise, or that is sounds that were not of natural origin, they decided to err on the side of caution and remain in the shadows. Claire was the one who investigated the source from a tree she stealthily climbed in an attempt to remain unseen while Perry and Tukson remain close to the forest floor, weapons at the ready if their leader gave any signal to converge on the target.

"Humans." She whispered neutrally, with a voice only the other two could hear, as she retrieved her weapon with utmost caution. "A child and a juvenile. Both of them are armed. I need confirmation."

Wordlessly, they two crept closer to the edge of their cover, if only to glimpse what seemed to be a fairly sized clearing. What appeared to be sleeping bags, three of them, were set strategically under the scattered trees that grew in the center of the glade while the remains of a fire sat away from the growing vegetation. Bags lay on top of the improvised beds while other supplies were neatly arranged.

Their eyes eventually found what their senior sought, a pair of boys who could easily be mistaken for siblings sitting across each other with their eyes closed to the world. The taller, blonde haired one breathed easily in his meditation while the scowl of the younger boy was just as evident as his violent trembling. "Confirmed, targets acquired."

Normally any of them would be appalled at killing, humans were one thing and the fact that they were children simply made it worse, but none of them could mistake the heavy aura that seemed to seep from the heart of the clearing. What they were exposed to previously was weaker, but the feel of the oppressive miasma was exactly the same as the aura that clung to their fear-afflicted comrades.

If it was a demon, then changing it's form would be a simple matter; some chameleon faunus could do so easily enough after all.

"Preparing to fire." The pistol she held was nowhere to be found as she held the stock of a full length sniper rifle against her shoulder, her eye piercing through the scope as she envisioned her targets falling dead at a twitch of her finger.

"Dodge this, you bastards." A gunshot rang out as she fired, practically point black at the elder of the two.

There was a flash of red as lifeblood splattered.

"You shouldn't have done that Ichigo." The golden-haired boy shook his head as a single red eye opened, staring directly into the sniper's eyes, while the younger of the two held out a bloody hand.

The bullet drew blood but it didn't even pierce his palm.

One moment, they were gawking at the pair, who still stood there as if their lives were never threatened, the next moment, dense chains set aglow by power they could not comprehend wrapped around them, pinning them to the tree they used as cover. If that wasn't enough to frighten them, the tree was ripped from the ground, roots and all as they hurtled towards the pair.

"Narius," The boy, Ichigo, looked over his shoulder at Narius shaking his hand to rid himself of the bullet. "I think we should start sparring now, before mom comes back from her walk."

Silently, they were forced to witness the battle of titans, their eyes barely being able to follow the movements of the pair as they flowed from form to form. The pressure the air forced on their lungs was asphyxiating as their blows cut the very atmosphere as it passed. The skill of the elder was almost as overwhelming as the power of the younger, the former's deft blade work and strength the only thing keeping the force from the latter's sword from tearing down entire hectares of the forest in a single swing. The speed was unimaginable, almost blinding, making them look like still frames as they danced.

The display was frightening, but breathtaking and yet the three knew from the moment the boy spoke that it was just that: a simple friendly spar.

They knew that they were watching a show, and no matter what they saw, it was simply a mere fraction of the power either of the pair could unleash at anyone they saw fit. For an instant, they forgot about the demon and laid eyes on two who seemed even more of a threat to them. There was only one common thought that went through their minds as the landscape shifted each time they clashed.

_Oh Dust, there are two of them._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Finish that sentence and I'll kill you." The words were unnecessary, the glare Ichigo leveled at them was enough to reduce a sane man to spouting gibberish in fear. The offending creature, he was sure it was not human, easily relented as Ichigo dismissed the short falchion in favor a piece of wood that contained at least ten times as much limiting power than it had when it was still a simple badge.

If there was something he would admit he found interesting in the strange new world Tessai revealed to them, it was the existence of these Faunus.

If he remembered what the old captain told him, they were simply humans with something more, animalistic attributes. As a whole, the possessed night vision, something extremely useful in the permanent night of Hueco Mundo, individually, their abilities were much more interesting. They seemed to be part, for lack of a less degrading term, fauna, and they had several capabilities that particular species possessed.

The idiot who dared insult his mother for instance, seemed to be part cat, and so he exhibited the peculiar ability of retracting claws as well as augmented strength.

"Ichigo." Aki chimed in almost gently if the icy atmosphere did relent. "Apologize to the poor faunus."

He had long since learned that trying to argue with his mother would never end well. Call it what you will but there is a difference between trying to stay alive and being a Mama's boy.

"Sorry!" In an instant, the hero of the winter war had his head bowed in apology as his mother smiled approvingly above him.

"He's not the only one in wrong, Mr..." She trailed off, turning her smile at the faunus as she waited for him to state his name. The effect was similar, it was obvious the faunus was terrified but of what, none could say. He didn't even know her, it was not as if she scared her with that expression. Yes, it did inspire dread and terror in all who saw it, but only if they were acquainted with it's history.

It was more likely they were afraid of the two who placed unbelievable power on display.

Who were they kidding? They were doomed to talk as soon as she entered the clearing. "Tukson."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Tukson, and company, I'm Aki, and I do not appreciate you three trying to put a bullet through my son's head." She finished politely, placing down a lunchbox for each of them. "Now, please eat, then we can talk about this little debacle. Ichigo, please let these people go so we can all have lunch together."

"Do it or we're both done for." Narius whispered, quite futilely as Ichigo was already nodding dumbly, banishing the low level binding, the golden rope of Hainawa, with a wave of his hand.

"Miss Aki, this is not necessary..." The bespectacled one tried to reason. Of course both Ichigo and Narius knew better than to actually argue against an angry mother, much less Ichigo's angry mother.

Unfortunately, Perry didn't know that. One look was all that was required to tarnish his silver tongue.

"Now, if there would be no more interruptions, let's all dig in, shall we?"

And so began one of the most awkward lunches in the history of the Remnant.

That might have been an exaggeration, as most of the lunch passed in silence. If was any consolation though, more than a century spent in the human world taught the Captain of the Kidō Corps how to prepare a feast, even if it was only contained in small black boxes.

Ichigo and Narius were eating as normal, or as slowly as possible considering the harsh verbal lashing they received when they were caught stuffing their faces like they had no time to spare. It was hard to break habits like that, especially after going through not just one or two great conflicts, when any moment could be the last.

The smile resembling the first Kenpachi was an excellent motivator though.

Aki ate as elegantly as ever, the true picture of a lady even as they traveled through the wilderness. They could never figure out how, but she made eating with a knife and fork look just as effortless as they ate with their chopsticks. Although, her smile seemed to wane as she stole glances at their captives, err, guests, their eating habits not exactly up to her expectations.

The three faunus were enjoying the feast, no matter how much they tried, and failed, to hide it. They were somewhat militarized, even before the change of leadership and if that didn't guarantee violence, combat training, tactics and sabotage, it practically ensured horrible feast. Such a transition, so akin to taste-bud whiplash, was something not even the most experienced of them could handle.

That being said, Tukson devoured food like an animal, the only thing separating him from beasts was the fact that not a single piece of rice escaped his hungry maw. Perry seemed to take slow and measured bites, but then one could see his rapture when they looked down, a small puddle forming as tears dripped from his chin. Claire seemed to inhale the food, all of it disappearing in the vacuum that was her mouth as soon as she took her first bite.

It was no surprised that they finished in minutes, aside from Perry who still had at least half of his meal as the rest packed up.

"Now then, since we're all stuffed, how about we start with why you shot my little boy here?" It was strange to witness a woman speak so calmly about attempted murder, to such a degree than would even give the silent captain of the sixth division pause. There was no trace of malice, no hurt or anger, just plain curiosity in her voice. If it was anyone else, they would think the tone she used was more suitable for light conversation about the weather.

"That information is given on a need to know basis, and frankly, _human,_ you don't need to know." Claire spat the word almost like it did leave a bad taste in her mouth, her eyes boring holes into the serene woman. "None of you are even supposed to be here, in the middle of nowhere, far from any of the major cities. Trespassing is enough of a reason to kill all of you here and now."

"Has White Fang fallen so low as to kill children on sight?" She retorted, seeming just as serene as when she started the conversation, though the reaction of her opposite was livid in contrast. "I truly am sorry for what we did to you and how even now, we treat you like second-class citizens, but to try kill a child? To be perfectly clear, I do need to know why, especially since you tried to kill _my_ child."

Ichigo, observing from the sidelines as even he had learned early on never to argue with his mother unless it was life or death, recognized the name she uttered.

The White Fang was almost synonymous to Faunus as far as he was taught. Created a little while back, a few years after a war supposedly ended, the White Fang promoted equal rights between man and their own race which was previously discriminated against precisely because of their heritage. Humanity seemed to view them as beings equal to the Grimm, monsters to be feared, to some even more than the Grimm because Faunus had souls. That meant that they could think, they could learn and like humanity, they had the powers that came from within, the Soul, as well as without, in Dust.

At first, it is said that their revolts were simple and civil, being composed of simple boycotts and rallies with minimal injuries, but then as time passed, nothing seemed to change. Words did not seem to phase the majority of humanity, being ignored by the ruling parties outright, while their simple acts of protests were likened to a spoiled child's tantrum when a parent would finally refuse it's requests.

According to Tessai, they have yet to do anything drastic, but that was under public scrutiny, or simply in the public eyes. In the open, they were peaceful, annoying but not so much as a threat when compared to the creatures of Grimm, but in the shadows, they plotted. Whispers of weapons, people disappearing in the dead of night, amassing an army, and more were commonplace, but only in the village they had resided in. If his assumptions were correct, these rumors of a coming revolution, a plan to overthrow the kingdoms, have yet to reach the ears of the people in the cities.

His mother had some memories of the organization, but only as the peaceful protesters. It seemed like this was her first time she saw them as the underground crime syndicate they were.

He was reminded of a very similar group, well two of them, both sporting something like a white mask.

On the side he fought on, the Vizards simply wanted to live in peace, even as Soul Society persecuted them for something ultimately out of their control. They were hunted, but instead of retaliation, they simply hid themselves away, content to stay in contact with fellow exiles as life past them by. Yes, they acted when the chance for revenge raised it's head, but that was only to protect one of their own. In the end, they were absolved, or maybe it would proper to say they forgave Soul Society, and returned home.

The side he fought against, the Arrancars, also shared the same fate, manipulated and deceived by the promise of a better life. Ichigo felt no remorse for cutting down those who loved only combat or those who craved power beyond measure, but those who did fight for their future and the future of all Hueco Mundo, for the betterment of their kind, he could only respect. They also gained victory in the end, the strongest of them being crowned queen as she attempted to start on a life that would change how Soul Society viewed Hollows.

Both were supposedly the embodiments of despair, of utter emptiness, but both managed to hold on to hope, some even in death.

As a child, Ichigo hoped that this White Fang would end up exactly how they did, one way or the other. Everyone still deserved a happy ending, especially if they worked for peace and equality.

As a warrior, a veteran of insurgencies and wars, he hoped they operated the same way the Arrancar Army did, that way it would be so much easier.

There was only one way to test that particular theory, though...

_Ah, there it is_. He could only smile as three pairs of eyes widened, the small amount of reiatsu he unleashed just enough to be felt. For that split second, he searched them peering into their eyes with the watchfulness of a seasoned combatant and he saw all he needed to see. Fear, confusion, regret, anger, those and more were visible as they took in the entirety of his power.

It was all there this time, his true nature laid bare before the three and they at least recognized a fraction of it from the expressions etched into their faces.

When they left Tessai's village, they went in the direction of, not the closest city to their position, but to the farthest. They could survive the trip between Ichigo and Narius, while Aki decided she would like to wander through the wilderness for a bit, but the main reason for such a strange detour was a single piece of cloth. From over the horizon, there stretched a single solitary ribbon, unaffected by all.

It was terrible crimson with just a few streaks of stark white.

So their journey began, and day after day, he would spread his power towards the four corners of the world and summon the Spirit Ribbon. Hundreds and thousands would be seen, each colored a strange shade but it was that single ribbon that was most familiar. How could it not be, when it perfectly matched the same ribbon that was connected to his own soul?

If they reacted in such a manner to his power, it was obvious that his Hollow, the larger one of his swords, was here. That being the case, he would have his answers. "So, you saw him, didn't you?"

"You know that... that thing?" Tukson, losing all control, blurted out, ignoring the glare of his superior as he eyed the little boy with an air of curiosity. "How did you survive?"

"Need to know basis." He threw back, having no self control not to smile at the masked gunner. "We're looking for him though and I had a feeling he would be somewhere in the area. He didn't kill anyone, did he? I'm sure the worst he would do is scare the living..." He glanced at his mother. "...you get the idea, I just need to make sure that he didn't end someone for something stupid."

A sated Perry asked after putting away his own lunchbox and nodding to Aki in thanks. "And what are you going to do with him when you find him?"

"I'm going to beat his ass to kingdom come, then maybe give him a chance to explain why he left me alone."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Something tells me I should have been left behind, rather than White." A young man mumbled to himself as a chill traveled up and down his spine. "Then again, at this point, he would be better off try to control the weakest of us rather than me, or even the Hollow. There might be an even bigger chance that he would kill her with my power, and then there would be no more end to that accursed rain."

With a nod, he stood from his seat, glancing at the window before taking another breath. "Then again, if it was the Hollow, at least then I would know that he would be safe. There is no telling what would happen now that he has an unknown as his main source of power. Neither Hollow nor human, but something else entirely, it would be disastrous if he couldn't even control him. So many possibilities."

The young man who could see everything sighed before watching the impossible distance, already his eyes picking up a trio of ribbons on the horizon. The strength of the one he hunted was diminished, so much so that if he wasn't keeping tabs on the boy, he would think that he was weakened to powerlessness once more, but he knew better. The child had control now, and that was, in itself, a miracle.

What he found troubling was the increase in power of the other, not enough to be much of a threat against him, but could trouble the child quite a bit. Their power was divided somewhat equally since they fled, and as they were tied to the boy, all their powers increased with his. It wasn't impossible to increase their own powers independently from the boy though, he had been doing so himself, even before the entire war and this little debacle. To think that the Hollow, his own antithesis, learned a similar technique no matter how inefficient, was somewhat unsettling.

He could double his powers in an instant if he so chose to, but then there would be consequences. There was still a sense of conservation when it came to his Holy Selection, which meant that if he gained a certain amount of power, some other individual or party would have to lose an equal amount. Given that there was only a limited amount of power in each being, taking too much was lethal.

It was amazing against foes, the actual and psychological damage was amazing in and of itself, but among friends with a wielder with little to no control was just asking for trouble.

The Hollow seemed to be increasing his own strength steadily even if he had only gained a third after what had been months. It couldn't be training, since there was simply no one powerful enough to challenge him aside. Besides, with the amount of power they wielded, a third of that was just tremendous in itself, so to gain so much, even with the shared growth, was simply ludicrous.

He could have easily been devouring souls and being true to his nature, but then the boy would be aware of such a thing happening. They were tied and so if the Hollow was feasting on souls, there was quite a big possibility that those souls would be found inside Ichigo's inner world. Also, as animalistic and cruel the Hollow could be, he wouldn't do anything that would hurt the boy without good reason.

He paced back and forth as he gave more thought into it. The entire separation was supposed to limit their strength as to ensure the boy didn't destroy anything by accident, as well as give their newest companion, Narius he called himself, a chance to better acquaint Ichigo with his facet of power. If the Hollow was doing something as counterproductive as gaining more power, they had a problem.

_He was absorbing the powers from the Grimm then_. It was the only other possible explanation as to how, and why the Hollow stayed where he was.

That particular area boasted an infestation of Grimm that it was overrun to a degree comparable to the Menos Forest itself. It was deemed so uninhabitable that even researchers would not dare venture, the perfect place to hide for any who wish to remain hidden. The only problem would be that if the Hollow did take power from the Grimm, assuredly killing them in the process, more people would eventually check and find the forest more appealing.

_He isn't that stupid, he would have at least thought of that._ The young man thought, an attempt to convince himself more than anything before taking another calming breath.

There were more immediate concerns that required his attention, he could not spend precious seconds worrying about three individual that could assuredly eradicate a country on a whim. _They wouldn't dare try anything above a tenth of their strength, only I have enough control to manage more._ He nodded once more, before brushing black locks aside and sighing. _Yes, they'll be perfectly fine_

"Are you finished yet?" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, pulling him back to reality. "Seriously, you zone out, like, every five minutes. Give it a rest already, Old Man Brennan. Have a drink..."

"You plan to intoxicate me now?" Brennan replied with a raised eyebrow before shaking his head, as if to dispel the growing amount of advantages that came with that suggestion. "No, that would not do, especially in our line of work. We need to be prepared at all times, just in case anything happens. For now we just stick to the plan and carry on as per normal."

The blue eyed young man met confused brown for several moments before the latter started laughing, filling the small room with the echoes of wild unrestrained mirth. "Wow, I would... never have... thought that... was you." He managed to say in between bouts of laughter as the young man simply stared. "I mean, wow, really? You're just way too serious, you know? Try and mellow out a bit. Relax."

"We don't really have time to relax, Kaiser." Brennan quipped immediately, returning to his seat and looking through a sheaf of papers. "Maybe I should rephrase that. _You_ don't have time to relax and fool around all day with our current arrangement. With the one old enough to actually work, you should be a less lax and actually put some effort into doing your jobs, even more so because you freelance."

It was true. Between the two of them, Kaiser looked like a man well into his twenties while Brennan seemed to have barely reached puberty. The office they were conversing in was technically Kaiser's as well, or at least where he would entertain people who would give him his assignments. The irony wasn't lost on him, he used to fill in for a person who did something similar in the past, and when asked, he would readily reply that he preferred staying in the sidelines to being in the thick of it. The only reason he still lived was he fact that Brennan decided it best if the two stuck together.

"But you're the stronger one, remember?" Kaiser moped about, resting his head on the desk and blowing a small stream of air that ruffled the edges of the neat stack. "It was so much better when all I had to do was stay at home and make sure nothing too stupid happened. Oh all the valleys that surrounded me when he actually forgot that I could walk around! Such good days, where have you gone?"

"Please stop reminding me of your... escapades." The younger boy admonished, exasperation coating his voice as he raised his hand.

In an instant, impossibly thin threads materialized and attached themselves to the older man, pulling him upright as if he was nothing but a simple puppet. "Now, I think we have a bit of time left. If you would prefer, we could practice your own strange brand of combat." With his free hand stretched out, he opened the portal, the shadow below the limb snaking its way upwards before it formed a door.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" A faint glow of yellow surrounded the brown haired man, severing the threads with a controlled pulse while he assessed the younger boy.

"Our techniques require several weeks of nothing but training, working the body till it literally sits at the edge of oblivion." He answered solemnly. "As far as I'm concerned, you have yet to taste true pain."

Kaiser could only grin. "Let's get this party started then."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"We have the green light." Claire spoke, abashed if they way she refused to meet Aki's eyes said anything. "The higher ups told us that we could help you out as long as you take care of this threat."

"It's nice to see we can get along sometimes, even if temporarily. But is that all you have to say..." Aki drawled out, satisfaction twinkling in her eyes as she regarded the de-facto leader of the trio.

"I'm sorry okay, I was just following orders!" She all but whined, waving her arms and stomping her foot in frustration in retaliation to the stare. No longer was it the stare that could chill the bastions of power that were captains, no this was arguably worse. It was the face of a parent that said all but 'I told you so'. "Oh come on! What if you found something that could tear down the entire forest?"

"Hey, we're not that bad!" Ichigo countered, scowling at the three faunus that shot him incredulous looks. "The forest is still standing isn't it? We cut down trees here and there, yeah, but not all of them!"

"To be perfectly fair, it would be easy to do, even with our current states." Narius added thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, if Zangetsu's here as well, the ensuing clash could easily remove a mountain range, without the limiter in place and us fully manifested. Factoring those into the equation, maybe the worst you could do is... turn the forest into a wasteland, easily another Hueco Mundo."

"Case in point. This argument is pointless, the sooner we find that thing that's been attacking us for months, the sooner we could all go our separate ways." Claire ran a hand through white, almost striking sliver, hair before she huffed. "Tukson is the best tracker among us right now, if we start looking now, we should be able to cover at least a tenth of the forest before nightfall."

"No need, he's already here."

The ensuing silence was so absolute that one could hear a pin drop.

All around him, their expressions were different. Even as he wore the mask, his scowl of indifference, he could practically feel Narius smiling somewhere beside him, like he was a child who just received another toy to play with. His mother was somewhat surprised, but more than that, she was alert. He only had bits and pieces of her past, but she was a warrior, a fighter, and a protector.

That was all she could remember about it, and precisely the reason she found him in the first place. He was thankful for that, that after all this time she still held some semblance of the mother he knew. She had been a Quincy after all, one who was prosecuted for the sole reason they were much too efficient and culling the Hollow population. Seeing her as a fighter here just seemed right.

It was expected for the faunus to be somewhat on edge, maybe even frightened, but before his very eyes, he watched as they were petrified. They were excellent at disguising it, an angry glare and an imperceptible clenching of fists, but he could see it. They were afraid. But then they have been afraid for most of their existence, and he saw how such fear didn't cripple them, it quickened them.

"Where?" Without missing a beat, the three entered formation, Claire with her rifle at the ready while Tukson and Perry flanked her, the former with what looked like a silver cutlass while the latter sported a standard assault riffle. Three pairs of eyes darted all around the clearing, in search of a monster they would never find. How could they, when the only scanned the ground for the feared predator?

No one ever thinks to look up anymore, but between the tracker who trained to scour on the ground below, the sniper who would always stay on target and the bespectacled faunus with horrible vision, no one felt the need to do so. They were in the middle of an _open clearing_ after all, no sane person would think that what they were looking for hung in midair, just a few meters above them.

They clearly have never fought Shinigami before.

"Oi, don't you think you've enjoyed the view enough?" The boy asked with the same amount of irritation he always added when he spoke to the Spirit of his Sword.

He had to keep the uncharacteristic smirk from surfacing, after so much time it seemed that even his Hollow couldn't change. Still, Ichigo wouldn't have it any other way. The vicious grin on his face was only made more apparent as he vanished in static, only to reappear before the boy. "Do you always have to ruin my fun, King? I thought we were already done with all this infighting and... Shit."

For once, Ichigo was thankful for the ruthlessness of the faunus, the aforementioned sniper holding the smoking gun victoriously. The previous cartridge flew out of the exhaust port when timed seemed to slow, the bolt action clicking twice in a matter of moments before another shot was fired, again almost point blank. With the muzzle of the weapon a few feet from the Hollow's spine, there was no escape.

No one could react until it was all over, and so over half a dozen rounds found themselves inside the ghostly pale young man.

Claire watched with no small amount of satisfaction brightening her visage, while her companions looked on with relief. Their reactions were expected of course, considering everything his Hollow might have done during the months they spent apart. He didn't kill, he never did on a whim and when he was confronted with the choice he never took it, but the physical and mental torture his Hollow was capable of was something to be feared. They must have been terrorized, day in and day out, by an unknown monster far beyond any mortal arms or tactics.

They couldn't win, it was a simple fact.

Currently, they think they did. They were in for a rude awakening.

Aki was outraged, very close to losing her temper if the neutral expression he wore himself didn't make her think for a moment. Narius and his mother deferred to his judgment when it came to matters of his past; the former because they were one and the same and the latter because she trusted him to make the right decisions after learning a bit of his experiences. She could tell he knew something she didn't and as she always did, she would give him a chance to handle the situation himself. If that didn't work the way it should, he feared for the continued existence of the faunus.

There was a reason he spared with Narius, his mother was so good with a simple blade that he would come very close to killing her if he wanted to win.

The manifestation of his Fullbring was somewhat quiet, but there was something sadistic about the ghost of a smile that pulled on his lips. It was battle-hungry and blood curdling, but more than that, it promised something more, that the fight they thought they won was not yet over. It was a smile that promised pain and suffering that was sure to come, and he would enjoy every second of it.

To all others, his Hollow clutched at his chest in silence. The faunus obviously waited for some sort of reaction from him, to either confirm he died standing or to examine the damage such devastating shots must have dealt. His mother waited for anything, quietly letting her anger seethe while they stood in silence and Narius began shaking his head with disappointment, his knowing eyes glittering with glee.

To him, the only one who was facing his Hollow, Zangetsu was smiling.

"That sure was a close one." The unmasked Hollow allowed his arm to drop, flattened bullets splattering as they landed in a small puddle of fleshly shed blood. His unmarred hand grabbed at the hem of his robe while his bloody hand blurred with movement, the life liquid striking the ground as he flicked the stained arm.

With a fluid movement, his arms disappeared into his robe as he shed the top part of his garment before turning to face the ashen fox. "You missed."

Two sounds soon followed, a light drone echoing into oblivion, and three unconscious bodies striking the forest floor rather gently. The last thing they saw was a grinning boy with a _hole_ in his chest.

"That wasn't very nice." He mumbled, acid flowing from his mouth as he glided towards them, chuckling as he tried to nudge them awake with the ball of his foot. "They're out cold." He added intelligently, sniffing the air before continuing. "At least I didn't make them shit themselves, that would be one hell of a problem." An exaggerated guffaw ripped from his thought as the other watched, visibly disturbed.

For a moment he was silent, content to revel in the unsettled crowd that surrounded him before his gaze landed solely on the little orange-haired boy. "I think that's enough playing around though..." a clawed hand raked at his face as crimson began to flow. He paid no heed to the reaction of the Spirit and the woman as red coalesced, a massive sword forming in his hand as a mask hid his face.

"**It's time to get this party started!**" In an instant, a trench was dug between them as the air tore before the Hollow. The impact between the feeble falchion and the massive khyber blade with a hollow through the center tore through the clearing, only halting as transparent barriers multiple stories high and several times as wide met the ravaging shockwave. "**Not a bad save, King.**"

The boy stood in the center of the devastation, pristine even as the earth around him crumbled and eroded. His hand was outstretched, wisps of energy still visible dancing around his fingertips. "Bakudō 81, Danku. The first Kidō I could actually cast without blowing anything up, and you managed to wreck it." He breathed, just as the barriers around them shattered like frail glass.

"**Don't be so ****disappointed****, you're not the only fucker who could get stronger.**" Another swing, this time am invisible horizontal met the child's indomitable guard, before the blade was flung upwards by the sheer force of the counter. Only his monstrous grip allowed the blade to remain in his hand, just before he let the blade fall. Black streaked through the air as heaven and earth wailed in agony.

A pillar of smoke erupted outward as the earth shivered in the face of tremendous force, the tremors reaching as far as the edges of the forest while the looming shadow turned day into night.

What had occurred could only be perceived by three of the four watching, vast movements performed in time so infinitesimal that not even the trained Huntress could keep pace. Below, the hastily crafted Danku shattered as the pair left the ground, shooting through the cloud made by Kidō while Aki and Narius stayed enshrouded, blind to the fighting but safe from any attack that would miss it's intended target.

Narius would survive by virtue if his nature, Aki on the other hand, was powerful but human.

He was never so glad he could use Sekeinton

"We don't need to hold back here." Ichigo readied his blade, looking up at the grinning Hollow as he took a stance on the open air. Below him, the cloud was barely visible while flickers of green shone in contrast to the blue sky that surrounded the two. His blade glowed with his own reiatsu before he flickered from sight, not bothering to decelerate as he made a beeline towards his enemy.

Radiant blue met empty air as his Hollow ducked beneath the lethal horizontal, answering with his own uppercut as the orange-haired boy recovered. He had only a moment before black was upon him, malicious reiatsu coating it as he twisted, barely evading the haphazard blow as he flowed into a more stable stance. His arm did not stop, arcing over his head before falling into a slash, the blade rushing though air even as he clenched his freehand in preparation. He knew he was weaker than his Hollow at the moment, his blow batted away like he was waving nothing but chaff, but he was versatile.

He wasn't a being of instinct, he could think in a fight. When he was losing a battle, precisely when he had no time to even think, he learned; he adapted.

He grit his teeth when his arm seemed to go limp against the force of his Hollow's slash, but his freehand was crackling with energy. As Danku was his first successful Bakudō, his Hado was likewise located in the upper ranges. The "Hado 89, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!" Compared to the force that bled from his Hollow's swing, the recoil of the Dragon Cannon was nothing, and so wild energy surged.

The only event comparable to veritable tide of energy would be the first time he unleashed a true Getsuga Tenshō, the Moon Fang Heaven Piercer rising towards the heavens before it rent the storm asunder, leaving not a single cloud in the sky when previously not a single speck of blue could be seen behind an all encompassing curtain of grey and a flood of rain.

Whatever cloud that gave shade to the forest before was obliterated by the shockwaves caused by the Thunder Cannon, the sheer force of the lightning tearing through any dust that was left by the distraction he created. For several moments, a wave of lightning tore through the sky, equaling the sun in azure brilliance while staining the rest of heavens with darkness, there was only so much light one could perceive before everything else simply looks black in comparison. Ichigo hadn't even allowed the spell to fade when the deluge of power was scattered from within.

Unforgiving white was joined by barbaric crimson as the heavens cried out for mercy. Blue was torn as a massive crescent appeared in the middle of the pillar of thunder before devouring it.

He ceased feeding energy into the spell, if only to limit the destruction, but the vortex of power would not be denied, white tearing apart the ocean of blue from within. He grimaced as his ears failed to register the name of his own technique, all he could do was watch as the all-powerful Moon Fang rushed forth in all encompassing wrath, consuming his own spell with no resistance whatsoever. He had felt it before, but that was when he fought his Hollow for the first time. Back then, he stuck with the same technique, but at point blank range with the power of Bankai fueling the massive moon of pure energy.

He didn't even name the technique, but the power it held was dimensions apart from what it was back then. To compare the two was to pit mild fine mist against the wrath of a typhoon.

Trying to match such power in his current state was suicide, it was quite fortunate his strength was not only in brute force, but blistering speed. The flash of green was terribly visible against deep crimson, but the boy was nowhere to be found when the moon fang ravaged the air he had been standing in, gone with the flash just before being overwhelmed by the abominable display of pure power.

"**You got to do better than that, Kid!**" The Hollow didn't even bother to turn as he dispelled the much smaller crescent of energy zooming from behind with a casual slash, moving with the ease of a dancer to lock against the smaller blue blade. Ichigo was sure he was smiling as demonic yellow eyes hiding behind the mask met resolute amber, even as the makings of a Cero glowed between his horns.

Not even the Hollow could have predicted what happened next, a small fist crushing the orb of corrosive energy before meeting the bone white mask.

Strength unbecoming of a child sent the Hollow back several meters as the mask cracked under the blow, revealing a sadistic smile even more frightening than the row of demonic teeth. "**Not bad, King, but I'd say that's enough of a warm up.**" Red and white melded into black as power started flowing from the Hollow's form, Ichigo answering with his own massive cloak of azure reiatsu.

They did not need any more words, the clashing of blades enough to meld their hearts like it always has.

The clash resumed in earnest as another shockwave rippled against the clear heavens.

* * *

**AN:**

**I am soooooooooooooooo sorry this is late you guys :( **

**Reviews before explanation.**

**Guest(guy who keeps insisting on hair color): Relax, I got this part figured out. As far as I see it, Summer's cannon appearance has yet to grace us, so I have creative license on this one. If I turn out wrong, well, then we'll see what happens. For all you readers know, it really is Masaki accompanying our strawberry and the summary up top only applies when he meets Ru and the gang. Have a little faith in me :)**

**Guest (RWBY, Monty stuff) Yes, yes I hope the continue, in memoriam, as they say. I don't know if you guys are the same person so just making sure :)**

**Fraiku and Bl4ze777: Thanks, for the support guys, much appreciated. :D**

**Life hit me like a truck, and so I publish a few(read half a week) late. **

**Exams are very hard! Ah~, to be in college and still three years younger than everyone else~ **

**So Hollows in the mix, and OC's are thrown in for fun of it. I need to flesh out the rest of the cast so please have patience with my Original Characters. I promise none of them are going to have that big a hand in the story. Next chapter could be out any time from Saturday, yeah I'll try, to next Tuesday. **

**To those guys who read, reviewed, favorited(not a word, I know) and followed, thank you very much, I will try my very best best not to disappoint. Oh and remember what I said about weakening our hero, well Ichigo's not getting nerfed without a fight. **

**Till next time Guys, this has been Proccit!**

**Bye Bye! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Memories, where'd you go?**

**Note: First scene continues from chapter one, next one continues from three ;D**

* * *

"**You can't be fucking serious!**" If he had to admit anything, the old man was strong.

To reduce the strength of his blow to a mere tenth of it's original strength was not an easy feat, but it was an exercise in futility. The Moon Fang wasn't enough to bathe the entirety of the inner world in red anymore, but to send a message, it was more than sufficient. If his mask wasn't enough to hint at his anger, the strike was. He didn't care that if it would escalate, there would be two of them against him anymore. Consumed in anger, he readied his blade, malevolent black energy coating the immaculate white blade.

His eyes narrowed when he felt it, energy even more malignant than his own, before he leaned to the right, barely evading the flash of yellow the streaked by. He had to raise his own blade to meet a second blow that followed instantaneously, the nodachi meeting the barbaric blade breaker with an explosion of power, the thinner blade not even whining as it was clasped between the savagely curved protrusions lining the much heavier weapon.

"**Out of my way, you bastard! I've got a bone to pick with the old man!**" The Hollow was angered further when a second nodachi met his blade in defiance.

"Calm down child." White tried to reason with him, showing no signs of discomfort as he held down the masked Hollow's blade with his own. "Just let the old man explain himself..."

The pointblank release of power engulfed them in a sphere of all consuming darkness, though it was easily rent apart by an ensuing flash of green. Yellow bored into red and for an instant, it looked like the battle would cease. Both, being fueled by the void, by what they had lost, knew better. They were just taking time to asses their opponents, searching for the quickest, most painful way to ensure victory.

Each also wondered how much the other was holding back, Zangetsu not even swinging with both his arms while White barely gripped his weapons with two fingers.

Thier arms blurred the next moment, blades flashing as they met again and again in the midst of a cacophony of steel. Zangetsu glared at his opponent harshly, striking with a thousand slashes, each with the power to level a skyscraper, but each swing was met head on by a wall of black steel.

White struck at a slower pace, still terrifyingly fast but with two blades he did not need to strike as rapidly with a single arm. In terms of strength he was also inferior, but only because he struck with the intent to redirect the savage great sword, not to overwhelm the ungodly amount of strength the Zanpakutō wielded.

Each blow was meant to kill, thrown haphazardly but with the strength that more than made up for the lack of finesse, but brute force was overcome only by technique. A wall of steel, forged from perfect calculation and precision rendered power null. The gap between them was not as obvious as it should have been, but both knew that if they truly had willed the other dead, the elder Hollow would have been feasting by now. Zangetsu smiled behind the mask.

Just because White held back just enough so they stood on even ground didn't mean he needed to do the same.

The look of surprise in his face was almost enough to make him crackle, the sudden spike in strength blowing him away. He struck with all the strength he could muster, forgetting for a moment that to try and kill any of them in King's inner world would mean nothing, and swung. The ensuing explosion was glorious, an attack drunk with so much power that it could not be called a projectile.

It was an explosion that centered on the Hollow's blade.

That was just the result of a single slash.

A hundred followed soon after, and then a thousand the next moment. His instinct screamed, to swing, to **fight**, to** kill**, to utterly **obliterate **the being that stood in his way. Just for standing in his way.

Eyes that glowed like brimstone peered into atmosphere of power that surrounded him and redoubled his efforts, feeding his entire being to the growing maelstrom of energy, wiling it to go forth and destroy everything. He had faith in the King he protected, and so he unleashed himself in his entirety. The demon roared as he swung his last, the great blade cleaving through the very space of the soul.

For a moment, reality, even the contained reality, _broke._

To put things into perspective, the final attack was something he could no longer name, a manifestation of himself as he was so absolute, so **Hollow**, that it could only be compared to their final strike against the would-be god. In the end, not even that could compare to the sheer power he unleashed in that final strike, something that seem to grow even more terrifying than the Moonless Sky.

When the King required power, he was the one who answered the call. Even with the old man limiting him as much as possible, the power he was able to wield was preeminence; absolute superiority, the fight with the Cuatro simply highlighted this fact. He did not just battle the demon of despair in Hueco Mundo, he managed to fight off the Quincy King in all of his glory. After all was said and done, he was winning.

When the King failed to protect one who he held precious to him, for one of the princesses or his own sister, he would emerge and fight for the three of them, and he would conquer. From Soul Society, to the white sands of Hueco Mundo, to the very depths of Hell itself, he would not be denied in combat. The only reason he would allow himself to be repressed was because of his own concern for the King.

That was no longer a variable here, when he fought for the King's wellbeing, and so he allowed his full power to be released.

Far more powerful than the Getsuga Tensho he used against the King, the final measure of power he gave him when he used the fake final form, even more than the power he unleashed when he destroyed the very Gates of Hell by _accident _and from the _lowest level_ of the eternal prison, the nameless attack he used exploded into existence as an indomitable force of destruction.

When it finally faded, there was nothing left.

Nothing but the old man.

"I had hoped that it would not come to this." He muttered with regret, glowing blue thread holding his own spent form. In principle, whatever he did was similar to the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho; a simple do or die. He would either kill the opponent with a single strike, or he would watch helplessly as he was defeated, his own soul not even strong enough to form a decent Cero. "It's useless, you know?"

"**We're already ou**t, aren't we?" He ceased struggling against his binds as his mask crumbled away, seeing the strange irony of being defeated but instead of sealed, being _freed_ from the prison that was the King's soul. "You sly bastard, you didn't even let me see whatever the hell I did in there. White's got to be flattened under all that rubble, if there is any rubble left after I was done with the place."

"No matter how strong we are, killing each other would be one of the more impossible tasks. I have been trying for a decade and a half, remember?" The old man chided, a wry smile on his face as he remembered his next words. "Do you hate it as much as I do?" He asked suddenly, catching the Hollow by surprise with a question that seemed to hold meaning. "The rain, I mean, do you hate it?"

The Hollow smiled, though there was much less bloodlust in his countenance. "Of course I do! Who actually likes it when the King's all rainy and flooding. Everything mechanical becomes unusable! Then, when you fall asleep, you have no idea where you'll wake up next! I've tried everything but it's just so fucking annoying that I can't stand it!" It was rare for the old man to even talk to him so when he was asked, he just had to try and push his buttons, at the very least to get a reaction.

The stone faced man glared, his anger quite palpable, but when the binds didn't tighten, and no pain followed such a ludicrous answer, he could tell something was wrong. "Is that all?"

He couldn't help but sigh. After everything, even the old man was right. They were both Zangetsu and whatever happened they both tried to work in the King's best interests. "No, it's also annoying how the King can be so... weak sometimes. He's got us right? He should be stronger than this, after all the shit that went down. He shouldn't be falling into despair anymore, not when we can catch him!"

The old man nodded empathetically, once more reminded that for better or for worse, they were the same. No matter what happened, they always were, neither just gave enough time and effort to see it. That was the reason, as much as it hurt the both of them to do so, they begrudgingly decided to leave Ichigo behind, at least until he can control his reiatsu. "We are the strongest ones, the source of most of his great power. At this point, at the brink of despair, he found something to protect. He doesn't know it yet, but at any time, his own power could have smothered he existence. We would have killed her if wasn't for..."

"So you took us away, so at least he could wake up still in her arms... and left that bastard with him. He'd be happy and survive long enough." The hollow wore a resigned expression, flaring his reiatsu so he could at least escape from the feeble threads. "Damn it, do you know how much I hate that you're right? He's going to be pissed as hell when he realizes we left. What are we going to do then?"

"If we left him in the right hands, then he would understand."

The hollow raised his eyebrow before allowing his power to pulse outward. "The captain, the one always in the shop besides hat and clogs?"

"He is very capable, almost as stealthy as Urahara and Shihōnin." The old man tried to assure him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He will be fine, and hopefully, prepared when he finally finds us."

"So we're hiding now?" Anger flared once more, but it was more rooted in annoyance than outrage. They were already distancing themselves for the boy, now they had to try to make an effort and hide too? This was taking it a bit too far, especially when factoring in their ability to perform high-speed movement. "You better have a goddamn good reason for this or else..."

If the Quincy could absorb the reishi in the air to battle, the Hollow had so much of it that he could literally go on for months. He was worn, but he could fight if he didn't like the next words that came from the mouth of his 'neighbor'. Make no mistake, he knew that he would, eventually, lose. Him using up all of his strength when the old man could just keep absorbing it, immune to the Hollow's poison, but he would make those few seconds of battle absolute hell. If he would go down, then fuck it, he would go down swinging and take as much of the landscape with him.

"Just a test of skill. He found out about Spirit Ribbons, one of the most difficult tracking skills even Quincy could learn, early in his life as a Shinigami. If he learns to exploit such a rare skill, then maybe we will all be together within less than a year." He could have sworn the old man was grinning as he begun muttering curses incoherently. "Have more faith in the boy, Zangetsu, he is stronger than we know."

"If he was, he wouldn't need me to bail his ass out all the time." He quipped easily, losing most of his venom. "What are we going to do in the meantime then, just sit on our asses and wait?"

"Do with your time as you will." The old man smiled before opening a portal, though unlike his own garganta, this one split from the shadow he cast by the light of the moon. "I will see what has changed."

With nary a sound, the shadow closed behind the old man, leaving him alone with his thoughts. "Do what I want, huh?" He looked to the moon knowingly, his fiendish grin widening as his eyes met the fragments. There was only one thing for him to do with his time, and after finally being given free reign, he intended to abuse his freedom mercilessly. "Get ready, Quincy, I'll win our fight next time."

A low growl echoed into the night, and for once, he felt somewhat... sheepish. That was before the ever present anger made itself known

"I need to eat now? Damn it, old man!" He bellowed, but the pain in his abdomen was a more pressing concern.

Kicking the old man's ass to kingdom come and back would have to wait, he needed sustenance.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"**Did you have to throw me that hard?**" The Hollow asked, feigning injury and indignance as Ichigo rolled his eyes. The monochrome being slowly reached for his neck, feeling the wound close before he abruptly pushed his chin, eliciting a satisfying crack from the sore area. "**Damn, I knew you got stronger with the control shit, but to keep up with me in that body? You really are a scary kid, King.**"

Ichigo simply floated down, watching as his Hollow jumped from the crater his landing made before dusting himself off. The bone-deep wound he inflicted, one that only left his spine keeping the Hollow's head on his shoulders, was all but healed in the seconds it took to cast him down from above. His earlier theories were right it seemed, even apart from him, the Hollow did get much, much stronger.

"Coming from something like you, I think I should take that as a compliment." He replied dryly before dismissing his sword and replacing the substitute's badge in his robe. "You're just lucky we left the forest or else we would have been caught by those... extremists." His eyes narrowed at his Sword, who took the admonishment and found it funny if the small smirk he wore was of any indication.

He removed his mask, revealing a smile much more terrifying than the slasher grin plastered on bone white. "Then they'll what? Tickle us to death, maybe even give us a warmup before we continued wiping the floor with each other? They were even more pathetic than those little shits I had to fight when I was kicked out." The Hollow spat indignantly, insulted at the thought that Ichigo considered the White Fang a credible threat.

The child would concede that against Narius, Zangetsu and himself, they were a mild nuisance, but then he never really worried about himself in a fight.

Of course the Hollow noticed his hesitation, almost as quickly as the old man usually did."Worried for her?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Ichigo rolled his eyes, though not before he caught a glance of the Hollow as a true being of instinct.

Wearing a smile that was bright and genuine but with a glare that spoke of inhumane ruthlessness, he chuckled coldly. "If we had to, I would get back in there and take control myself. They wouldn't stand a chance." The Hollow's glare intensified just as he opened his mouth. "Yeah, I know, the forest wouldn't survive us at full power, especially without the old man holding us back, but would you even care?"

"Trust me, Ichigo." Narius appeared from his seat, a small piece of cloth that served the simple purpose of separating the sand from his slacks. "When it comes to her, there is nothing you wouldn't do."

He started fidgeting, cursing the fact that he was still somewhat influenced by his strange body. He knew well enough that he was a mama's boy, other children his age never let him forget it, but was it really always this bad?

"I should have known you would turn pansy." Zangetsu muttered, regarding the golden-haired young man in a suit with disdain. "All the emotions and shit coming out of you, what the hell are you?"

"Again, Zangetsu, I am Narius, the manifestation of Ichigo's Fullbring." Without missing a beat, he stood to his full height, enough to look down on the monochrome spirit with a disarming smile. He never did let the Hollow forget that even if he was not as much of a child Ichigo was, he was far from his teens as well. "And yes, if you are his instinct and darkness, I am his emotions and his brightest lights."

Even since after they finished their fight, Ichigo taking a serious beating while the Hollow walked away with nothing but the small falchion stuck through his chest, they seemed to get along like before.

That was to say, every chance they got, they would not hesitate to deliberately try to start a fight.

After his Sword declared the battle a draw, he moved on to his newest 'house guest'. Ichigo would have been outraged at such behavior, not to say that he didn't expect it, but to attack another part of him was quite strange all things considered. Of course, during that time, they were both working with some faulty conclusions regarding the golden-haired young man with a smile that simply chilled him to the soul.

First of all, as a simple Fullbring, something that supposedly developed when a human was attacked by a Hollow while still in the womb, should have absolutely no chance against a full-fledged Adjuchas level Hollow. When he had used his Fullbring in battle, he was able to survive and pressure Xcution, but it was only with his true Shinigami powers that he was able to fight with not a shred of doubt.

The difference in power, even when they were aided by his own Fullbring, was simply that staggering. Even against Ginjō, he would admit that he could have ended the fight at anytime, despite the latter also using Bankai. As far as Narius explained himself, even if the other spirit possessed power equivalent to the entire Xcution combined, including Tsukishima, the Hollow would win, hands down.

When they actually met in combat, bloody crimson meeting a calm green, that definitely was not the case.

Ichigo knew that against him, especially in the form he was forced into, the Hollow would hold back. Fighting a child was not just wrong on so many levels, it was not what the Hollow classified as fun, no matter how strong he knew Ichigo was. Even when they fought for supremacy, the Hollow fought with a halfhearted swing and his mind wandering, his priorities being the battle with the Quincy King rather than the orange-haired teenager. Only when he went for the kill was his true strength brought to bare, and even then, the Quincy King would try his very best to keep as much of that power at bay.

Reason dictated that even he would lose against a monster like that, and so his newest spirit should have been a smear on the ground after the first swing...

He was still deflecting blows after the first few minutes, not a hint of fatigue lining his expression.

The way he smiled, no longer simply annoying but infuriatingly smug, the form he took, placing his right arm behind his back while his left weaved a veritable wall of steel, and his stance, rigid but solid, spoke of one thing. He was not going to be losing this battle any time soon, if at all. If Ichigo's eyes didn't deceive him, it looked like his Hollow was struggling against his Fullbring.

Wait, that definitely wasn't right. A fragment of Hollow's power should not be at par with one of its most powerful specimens.

That was when the impossible started to occur, Narius getting even stronger. Green bled out, while the dreaded golden glow overpowered the clearing. The skull was shockingly absent, but then again, its wielder would not be able to reach this height of power, despite learning his sword's true name. Ichigo was surprised the forest was still standing while the two masses of power struggled for dominance.

Then he saw that it never was a struggle, not even a contest as yellow flowed, easily subduing vermilion and obsidian. To those observing from a safe distance, it was a golden hand cradling dark flames, keeping them from reaching the forest around while gales tore through the earth and skies. The smell of sulfur spread through the air and the heat rose to new heights, and yet the trees did not burn and the ground did not char. Despair clashed with corruption, emptiness battling against taint, and the former could only writhe and thrash against the iron grip of the latter.

It was almost as if the golden aura was meant to restrain such power.

His tired eyes could not see the whole battle, but he felt their power and watched as the air around him warped with each blow they exchanged. He felt the ground thrum with energy that could only be from his newest spirit, the only reason everything still stood as it was, while the air rippled with ruinous strength that was his Sword's, a feeble attempt on laying waste to the terrain.

At that point, when both of them fell from the heavens and not a single pebble on the ground was shifted, there was no question who would be the victor.

In an instant, Narius held both blades, his own and Ichigo's before his arms blurred. Ichigo could see nothing of the true strikes while his Hollow fought back, all in vain. Ichigo estimated a quarter was all that was blocked, and with each deflected blade, three gashes ran through the Hollow's once pristine form. In moments, any regular combatant would have fallen, even his Hollow had to feel something.

He thought that the fight would end, then and there. He should have known better.

Though, he had to give credit where it was due. If Narius seemed to dictate the battle with superior strength and skill, Zangetsu possessed ungodly endurance that matched him.

The battle that followed could only be described as apocalyptic, the inconceivable reiatsu Narius commanded the only reason why anything still stood. Compared to the fact that their own blows could flatten mountains and carve canyons on a whim, his newest spirit's ability to reinforce the souls inherent in everything that created his surroundings, preventing any damage, was far more remarkable.

He was a protector after all, and more than the sheer power they wielded, the strength to change the world with most effortless flick of the wrists, he held power to defend in higher regard.

A reason he was always somewhat in awe of... never mind.

Almost a full hour later, with both blades buried in the ground, through both of the Hollow's shoulders, Zangetsu still continued to struggle, firing Cero after Cero in rebellion while Narius deflected the weakened blasts with but his bare hands. His smile had not faltered since the beginning of the skirmish, and with his victory, it thankfully grew less irritating but more frighteningly sinister.

The next thing he remembered was his two spirits, who apparently settled their differences, smiling as they looked upon the fear-stricken looks of a certain trio.

The only good thing about his spirits being downright insane was the fact that the three Faunus they encountered, each witnessing all that had occurred, practically begged to be left alone.

After all that happened, it was the smartest choice, if not the only one that saved them from a world of suffering.

Still, all he wanted to do was forget that _insipid laughter_.

"Yeah, right." The Hollow's barbed comment brought him back to reality, forcing back memories better left forgotten. "Still don't see the point of beating the King black and blue, though."

"Again, Mr, Overcompensation, if I said it once, I said it a hundred times..." Narius made it a point to ignore the outraged cry as he repeated his earlier explanation. "The Fullbring requires strength of the body instead of strength of the Soul. As strong as he is, Ichigo can't fully utilize his Fullbring because he's been relying too much of true reiryoku to augment his attributes to beyond godlike levels."

"Doesn't that just tell me you're useless?" Zangetsu was quick to point out. "In a fight, you either go all-out or die trying. If the King here is going to bite the dust because of something as stupid as that then I'd take my chances trying to take over. Holding back in a fight is stupid. He could kick ass without us before, why does he have to grovel again and settle for something less than his real sword?"

"Who won last time we fought seriously?" The golden-haired spirit silenced the Hollow with a single question, smiling in the face of disgusted outrage. "Exactly. We're not going for power here, it's going to be all about control." His hands flashed green before the strange aura melted away, revealing golden brilliance, red eyes staring into the amber that reflected golden light. "When you can control the least of your power, then we can delve into the aspects that make you powerful. I am the weakest among the three, but I also embody your humanity, your potential. I am all you _can _be."

"So that's how you beat this bastard?" Ichigo asked, not even trying to hide his smile when his least mentally stable spirit simply groaned before disappearing in a burst of sound.

He couldn't explain why, but the gold light was more... right, more suited to him, than the cursed crimson, ominous black, majestic azure or the sickly green. It just felt better, like it represented him as Ichigo Kurosaki, not just the heir to the throne, or the Vizard, or a member of Xcution or even a Shinigami. It was just, _him, _in strength, unparalleled and yet altruistic instead of destructive.

"Not exactly." Narius moved to explain before the child could voice his curiosity. "We all share your massive growth rate, as well as share a bond with you in a way that when you grow stronger, we do too, but we all have something that makes us unique. You'll have to figure out who has what though, if you truly seek to understand yourself, your... unique ancestry and how that affects your powers."

"And here I thought you would be different." Ichigo sighed. _More riddles, _he thought, just as Narius began chuckling lightly. The scowl he wore like he was born with it deepened before he shook his head in resignation. If his spirits had something in common, it would not be the fact that they were beings of power, each one a paragon of strength from their respective disciplines and races.

It was that they all seemed to love annoying the hell out of him, with riddles.

"You're smarter than you think Ichigo." The Fullbring chided, smiling even as Ichigo countered with a glare than had rendered lesser men dumb with fear. "Now, reactivate the seal so we can get back to what we were doing before Zangetsu decided it would be a good idea to mix it up a bit. By my count you should still have thirty kilometers as well as another thousand push-ups, of each kind, of course."

Ichigo blanched visibly, almost becoming the exact image of his Hollow if not for the fact that he was not quite as tall yet.

As much as the thought of gaining his full strength appealed to him, the training methods his Fullbring used were just as insane, if not more so, as any of his teachers' for that matter.

Sure, Urahara tried his very best to kill him, in a sense. Ichigo didn't believe for a second that he would have survived if the old shopkeeper really held his Zanpakutō and wanted him dead. Then again sending him down the Shattered Shaft and neglecting to give him a real sword had to count for something. His training with Yoruichi was just brutal when he looked back, a horror show where he was the victim endlessly running from the inevitable... torture she had in store for him.

His swords were great too, each of them pushing him to his very limits until he had to use his last resort; he had to _think._ The battles that took him to that point of epiphany were all grueling one-sided bloodbaths where he struggled just to survive. His spirits weren't even trying as hard as he was, and to this day, the only reason why he kept winning was because they _wanted _him to grow in power.

It was sick and twisted, but in the end, it was the one method that did work.

His most recent teachers were what he would call the most brutal. Kugo Ginjō, Tsukabishi Tessai and Narius White were all slave drivers when it came to training him in whatever art they knew. They didn't fight him as his other teachers did, there was no almost impossible task at hand or any deadline to beat just so the wound would continue its existence. It was the most normal training he received.

And it was Hell.

Tessai, he would forever be grateful for his wisdom and patience in teaching him Kidō, but the way he taught was so _unbearable_. It was designed for excellence, precision and complete mastery but it was repetitive and monotone. It was slow and steady, even with his advanced growth rate, he moved through the lessons as slowly as possible. If he stumbled just once, he was fated to repeat the exercise a hundred times, and a second would sentence him to another thousand. He could toil for weeks when it came to a single task until his teacher was sure he could perform the spell in his sleep.

Strangely, the only time he was allowed to fail was when he practiced the Kidō ranked below fifty, considering that was when his power began fluctuating and fighting against his will.

Narius simply took Ginjō's training to a whole new level entirely.

First, they began sealing his powers to the absolute limit. It was limited to begin with, as all of Narius himself, as well as Zangetsu, began drawing the power to keep themselves materialized and visible solely from him. That act in itself quickly cut down the extra reserves he managed to gain after his Kidō training, as well as an estimated quarter of his fighting strength.

They didn't even Seal him yet but the large plunge his power took was immediately apparent, now with his Hollow greedily devouring energy instead of... whatever he did to survive the months past.

For some reason, he never truly spoke of the source of his new found strength, or how he survived without a source of power of his own.

Speaking of which.

"Better run faster King!" He barely sensed the coming attack before ducking into a roll, the Bala souring clear over his head as he doubled his pace. _Great, now he's helping._ Ichigo thought bitterly before expending what reiryoku he had left, not to form a barrier but something like a radar. The closest he could liken it to was Pesquisa except as a constant field in the place of a pulse.

He still wore the seals he did when he trained with Kidō, the only difference being the power level between the two sets. Serving two different purposes, it was natural that seals as a training aid had variable power restraining capabilities. It could either allow a restrained flow to a degree or attempt to completely seal off a person's reiryoku, keeping them from accessing and controlling it to any degree.

What they aimed for was the latter, for Ichigo to lose all grasp of his power in so much that it wasn't even there rather than allowing it to thrash wildly. That being the goal, the best they could do, cosnidering what they had and how much sheer power the boy was cursed with, was keep him from using his power to aid him in a way too blatantly obvious. It was still there, still improving his senses, his strength and his reflexes, but as limited as it was, he was only left with its passive benefits. He could sense others as well as he could without the seals, which was bad enough, but he could not attack or defend.

In his current predicament, the most relevant was that he couldn't evade as easily.

The first time it happened was the first time his eyes were opened to just how much he relied on his reiryoku.

The last time he was this weak was when he lost his powers, but even then he was a threat to any would be assailant. Back then, even if he could not level a building with a snap of his fingers, he could fight quite well. He still possessed strength that could at least crack asphalt, a quality he had even before he learned to use any trace of Shinigami powers. He was fast enough to see a fist coming at him and throw a counter-strike even before it came within a foot of its target. He excelled at any and every sport he participated in and when it came to speed, he was undefeated.

But that was with a body trained for war, not one as new as a child's.

Coupled with his workout, one they made sure never to tell Aki about for fear of all of their lives, it was no surprise he collapsed after completing the required running distance.

His body was burning, fresh muscle crying out for respite and simply giving up while sweat and grime coated scar free skin. His head throbbed while his throat was raw with his heavy breaths, kicking dust as he stayed on his arms and knees. He couldn't see, his eyes far too sensitive to light to comprehend the sands below him, and all he could hear was a steady pounding of his heartbeats as his body tried to catch up.

The only thing keeping him conscious was pure will.

He didn't even have the strength to fight the strong hand that grabbed him by the scuff of his neck, holding on to the cloth to pull him upright. "Being in that position would only bring momentary relief, before cramps would set in." Narius admonished gently, handing him a bottle of water before keeping him upright as he drank. "It's amazing how far you're going in such a short time. You didn't even faint."

With a look that screamed 'don't remind me', Ichigo continued guzzling down the cool liquid before letting out a hard breath. With an open palm and eyes cast to the ground, he gathered air into his lungs before bringing a fresh bottle to his lips. It was empty in less than a minute and for his fervor, he was rewarded with a few gulps of water entering his aching throat... through the wrong passage.

This was the first time he ever cursed water when he was dying of thirst, trying his best to rid himself of the liquid that entered his lungs as Narius gently patted his back to ease the coughing child. Ichigo didn't need to look up to figure that he still smiled as annoyingly as he always does, but this time he made sure to thank him, even if only in his mind.

"You still have to do a hundred pushups." The young man said gently, kindly reducing the number of exercises the boy had to do by a factor of ten in light of the near death experience.

"I hate you so much right now." He didn't waste any time dropping to the ground, ignoring the heat of the sand on his skin and his muscles tearing themselves apart.

The faster he could finish his physical conditioning, the sooner he could move on...

...back to Kidō training.

For once he welcomed the monotony of molding his reiryoku.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Aki was anything but comfortable, she was just really, really, _really_ good at hiding it.

From the start, everything was messed up, or at least the way she remembered things. When it came to most, impossible, situations, she knew how to handle herself perfectly. The child doing crazy things, wiping away an army of Grimm -she still didn't know how the memory reached her when other more important things like, hmm, her name perhaps, seemed to slip her mind- she could handle easily.

But this was the _way she remembered things, _the way she could call to mind information she should _not _know. That was what was troubling her.

Waking up in a room with... well to be perfectly honest, strange but homey and comfortable but creepy all at the same time, was not really that bad, the man watching her while she slept even got a small wave and a bright smile from her when she finally got her bearings. She was even tempted to scream out something stupid like, 'I just had fifteen too many,' but she caught her tongue as soon as she felt it.

There was a little boy clinging to her chest.

In that moment she was torn. She was afraid. The source of her fear was hidden from her, and the reason even more elusive, but that did not change the fact that she was afraid.

_I'm sorry I couldn't protect you... Live well..._ A voice, from memories of time passed welled up in an instant, and as distraught as she was, she knew to remember something about the strange words.

They were the last she even spoke.

The memory of death surged soon after, and she was swallowed in the depths of the cold. She could feel her life ebbing, blood flowing from wounds that were no longer there while the light from her eyes faded. Weakness grabbed and groped for a handhold while fear choked her, allowing only a soundless scream to escape her lips while she continued falling. Pain lanced through her chest, as if something bore a hole through her heart and her skin was opened to the bone, the marks of one soon to die... soon to be consumed by monsters.

_I did die, I'm dead. _She realized quickly, with much less... hurt than she expected.

Death did set free the captive, that was probably why most would look to it as a romanticized escape rather than the absolute end.

She began to notice it more as she spent time with the child, her little Strawberry, she began seeing things, remembering things that had past. Things that were supposed to be out of her reach, literally memories of a past life, would trouble her in dreams, or whenever they felt like it actually. If she was to put it into words, it would be like a strange but cute little puppy, who bothers you when least expected, and more so until you start waiting for it to come around again.

They came in wisps, flashes of images, sights and sounds, information and blanks she could never truly comprehend until it had passed and all that was left was the knowledge. The little tidbits about the Creatures of Grimm was something like this, all she needed to know retained after she glimpsed one of the dark creatures as soon as they left Tessai's village. She _knew_ she knew about them, but as to how and why still remained a mystery... until the next night.

Unfortunately, the revelations tended to raise more questions than they answered.

She _remembered, _if it was proper to say such a thing, that she was a member of a select group called Huntsmen, or in her case, Huntresses, who protected the people against the Grimm who simply wished to end humanities existence. They were the light, the walls of the people, who stood in the midst of darkness and illuminated the world so that others may live in peace. They fought, they protected and they conquered the darkness, allowing the world to blossom into what it was, whatever it was still didn't come back to her.

Those were the memories she focused on, not exactly memories in the truest sense but the information that came with it. It was the more... personal memories that frightened her.

Sometimes, she would remember sounds, smells, soft touches, and wake in a cold sweat and labored breath. When she would look back, she tried to grasp the fading dream that glided around her fingers, almost teasingly. Such torture went on for weeks on end, until finally she realized just what she had been trying to remember.

She had a family.

She could clearly make out the voice of two littler girls, their smells, the way they embraced her, the small echo of their voices so different yet undeniably similar to hers sent chills through her body when she first took note. Their names, their faces, even their forms escaped her thoughts, but she knew without a doubt that these were her two daughters. The thought almost made her squeal with joy...

At that particular moment, as a light of a small campfire seemed to dim in comparison to the young woman's face, the little boy nestled close to her chest stirred mumbling incoherently before once again reverting to stillness. The sight that once been the sole reason she decided that it didn't matter if she knew nothing, that she would not care for her stolen past and she would focus on the present, faltered.

What had been the driving force soon turned into the most massive obstacle.

She had a family, _Had, _being the operative verb.

She regained people she cared about, people who cared about her, daughters she would have cherished until the day she died and a husband she must have loved with all her heart were returned, even if for a moment.

Only for them to be snatched back, hung at a distance so much so that she knew they were there, she knew that they still lived, while she could only hope to see them again.

She no longer recalled them, but the grief of loss is something she would never wish on anyone. She knew she had cherished ones, and than they would be forever separated from her now that she was technically 'dead'. She could no longer see them, no longer get to know them again so that she could properly spoil them, and love them as she knew she did in the past.

She could, actually, but not without sacrificing the one thing that kept her going since she opened her eyes that hazy winter night.

The memories of how they met were just as fresh as the first words he spoke to her. The confidence, the sheer resolve would be a far cry from the desperate plea he voiced before darkness consumed him. The way he decimated monsters that threatened to overwhelm her with frightening ease did not match the way he looked when he slept; a child trembling with grief and sorrow.

The old her, the one who would die but hours after, looked at the boy with what could only be sympathy before she exhausted her remaining strength to pull him closer. She remembered mussing about the strangeness of it all, that her, a Huntress would be save by a mere child. She recalled the fire that burst within her when she question what power could turn an innocent child into someone even more dangerous, something even more ruthless than the creatures he ended with what looked to be no effort. She remembered the sheer despair she felt when he called for her, when he begged her to stay.

The thought of leaving either of them hurt her; it pained her then when she could recall with perfect clarity those who cared for her and it hurt all the same as she entertained the thought of going away.

She shook her head. Such thoughts were poison, especially after all she knew the boy had been through. Yes, he told her everything, from when his mother had left her to when he took bloody divergence of her murderer. He saw the eyes of a warrior, of a man who danced with death so often that they could embrace each other without a hint of hesitation when he told her of his life, a story of pain and loss.

She could only offer a mother's touch as he ends the terrible tale of the life of Death. Her embrace is the only comfort she could provide as he cries silently into the night.

They were kindred spirits, both dead and yet not quite away, but she could not offer understanding. She could not give the council a mother should, nor could she coax him out of the pit he had buried himself in. Those required words, memories of happiness, both she had lost ever since they met, both she could not take back before the years they would spend together. She could not tell him it would be okay, as even then as they were together, they were both shattered. They were both broken as it was, both lost in whatever darkness in the uncertainty they had awakened in.

He called her 'mother' lovingly, but reverently: fearfully, as if she would disappear before his very eyes.

She couldn't leave him, she wouldn't part from him, _her son_ in all if not blood. She promised herself that she would be strong, if not just for herself, if not for the past she lost and tried to regain, then for the one who saved her. A mother did gain strength from the love of their children, and just as he protected her from the creatures of life, she would fight of the darkness within him.

She still couldn't believe half of what she heard from him, but then again, not everyone walked away with a goddamn _hole _in their chests.

If anything good came from her son getting all his baggage out it gave her another purpose. She would hunt down the bastards who made him a weapon and make them _pay_.

That would be a very much welcome distraction form the other morbid thoughts that plagued her.

A yawn shook her from her reverie as the sleepy breath followed. _Depressing thoughts always make me sleepy. _She reflected, looking up into the blue sky before she began walking back to where they made camp. The desert was one of the easiest places to get lost, but then again, her little boy could freaking fly and find her whenever she would get lost.

It was much easier to find her than in the forest if it was ever a good thing. Strangely enough, it could get cold in the desert, perfect for a quick nap. The empty camp site confirmed what she already knew, her boys, or at least Ichigo and his... alter egos were still training as they called it. It must have been some workout if they were able to get him even more exhausted than the first time she watched him.

As that day came to an end, she was just as drained as he was, and that was just from watching him light fires with his aura.

_This spot is just as good as any._ She thought with one last yawn before wrapping herself in the sleeping bag Tessai gave them for the trip. She thanked the man for a great number of things, most of all for taking care of her child when he requested to be trained under the old master. She never would have guessed he was capable of such power, even without Dust. For their conversations together too, the master mage shedding a great deal of light on her son's past, telling her things Ichigo never knew and things he would never have the heart to tell her.

Sleep came easily for her, just as the last dredges of doubt disappeared.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Zangetsu was pissed. Not only was the fucking... whatever he was cause he was definitely not _just_ a Fullbring._ Right_, he had the balls to stick it to his face, in front of the boy.

He just hated that about his companions, the way the knew how to hammering the fact that he was the weakest of them again and again. In a way, it was why he resolved to get stronger while he was out in the world and away from the King, just so one day he could look down on them and grin like a maniac for a change instead of being beaten down by the older hollow, Fullbring whatever or sealed by the fragment, likely the whole now, of the King who thought it was a good idea to kill his mother and slap him with it.

He did get stronger over the months past, but it still wasn't enough. He began wondering when it would ever be enough.

"This is fucking karma isn't it?" He asked the sky above him with an empty smile as he crushed the thought under a hammer of resolve. He was the instinct, the will to do anything to ensure survival, not some emotional teenager. He was resolve, and if he wanted to get stronger then damn it all to hell, he would find a way to ensure than the next time he battled the two spirits, it would be on even ground.

Unless he had to consume souls, as much as everyone thought otherwise, he still had his standards. Even if the process itself was relatively harmless in the end, the King wouldn't let it stand that he ate another sentient soul. A shame though, it was the surefire way he would ever get enough strength to batter the other two, maybe even the King, to his heart -wait, he didn't have one- as much as he wanted.

He needed something faster than the Grimm he had been eating through, considering they were never polite enough to stay through the whole thing. Damn things faded even before he managed to finish half of it, and considering the way he practically inhales what he tears off from its still living form, they die and subsequently fade fairly quickly. To someone who actually needed them alive, it was frustrating.

They came for him first, and in Hollow fashion, he would whip their asses, and they didn't even stick around long enough to be be eaten! It was the epitome of impudence; those mindless beasts challenged him, rightly the most powerful being of darkness in this entire dimension, or so he would like to think, and they didn't even stay long enough to suffer the consequences.

Hell, it was almost as rude as trying to assassinate the King's mother, technically their mother, in her sleep! All he wanted to do was feast on their slowly dying bodies, siphoning their own fallen strength to augment his powers! Was that too much to ask from monsters with no other purpose rather than killing humans? Apparently, even taking three quarters of their original strength was enough to make them disappear...

_Wait a minute..._ The Hollow growled angrily before using the only sensory skill he knew and threw his power in all directions.

The pulse stretched far and wide, reaching the forest they had left but a few days ago, catching familiar signatures as it passed and returned to him. It looked like those three were fighting, their meager energy already increasing by no matter how small a margin.

In other areas, he could sense monsters returning, his absence already being made apparent by the sudden return of the... Grimm, Aki called it. Some were even hidden underground, far beneath them, stronger Grimm. He would have smiled if he didn't feel the power much closer to him, much weaker that his, the King's or Narius'.

It was unknown, infinitesimal compared to their own, but it eclipsed the monster's power.

And it was a scant distance away from the camp. The same camp Aki lay slumbering in the middle of the afternoon.

In that instant the world blurred around him, his white form but a small path against the blanket of blue above him. He pushed himself from the sky when he was close enough, not even to bother slowing down before he landed, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Normally, messing with the King was one of his more pleasant pass times, but even he knew when to draw a line.

This was one of those exceptions.

A swing of his sword and the cloud was gone, revealing a very distraught Ichigo holding his breath and Narius with an expression unlike his usual grin. "We have a problem King."

"What the..." Ichigo screamed, fatigue obviously taking it's toll on his young body. He couldn't afford to spare him as time was of the essence.

"No time, someone's going for Aki." He said grimly, silencing the boy without needing to raise his voice. Resolve returned to the boy's eyes as he stood as quickly, and shakily, as he could. the King looked at him with pleading, an unvoiced question that never left his throat as the Hollow placed his hand on his shoulder and let dark crimson intermingle with the boy's faint blue.

"Thanks, Zangetsu." The boy was gone not a second later, his vitality returning as soon as the Hollow reiryoku took effect.

That left the two spirits alone for a moment, the golden-haired young man appraising the monochrome being with an almost impressed eye. "What?"

"Do you know what you've done?" Narius ask curiously, his smile more genuine as his eyes glowed with mirth and pride.

"I told him what was happening." Zangetsu replied gruffly. "It's the King's fight. After his first failure and that mind shit both bastards pulled on him, he deserves to get that out of his system. Besides, it's just a human, or faunus or whatever, it's not like he'll lose to something that pathetic. As soon as he realizes he can protect her with his two hands, he'll be less of a depressed bastard."

"Glad to see you actually do mature, Zangetsu." Narius nodded with approval, in full agreement with the Hollow, if not for the sudden thought that surfaced. "What about the Seals?"

Zangetsu shrugged. "Better he learns how to use his sword now before he starts throwing Getuga Tensho all over the place. If he can't beat something like this with just his sword, then he doesn't deserve to be King, and trust me, he deserves that title more than the Quincy bastard and that fucker Aizen." He tapped the Fullbring's shoulder once, a strange smile pulling at his lips. "You coming to watch?"

"Only to make sure he doesn't kill himself fighting." Narius smiled nervously. "Though I don't know what worries me more, him getting hurt or her getting angry at us for letting him go alone."

"No truer words." Zangetsu agreed easily before disappearing in a burst of sound, Narius following with a flash of green light.

If they both agreed on something, they knew that Ichigo had issues, the first two as well as the most prominent being his separation anxiety and his inferiority complex. Both centered on his mother, the former had no more opportunity to show itself after his mother died, while the latter stemmed from exactly that moment. No matter what the training with Urahara erased, there was always the lingering thought that he was never enough, that he would never be enough to protect anyone or anything after he failed to protect his mother.

Yhwach said it best when he spoke with his smug superiority, not unlike the air Aizen wore like a cloak. "_It was your weakness that killed her_."

What they had was a rare opportunity to remedy at least one of those problems, both if they were lucky enough.

They rematerialized far above the campsite, high enough that they could see both Aki's slumbering form and the small skirmish unfolding. Just between the two there was a wide wall, much larger than necessary but a forgivable accident considering the urgency of the situation. "We need more Seals." Narius deadpanned as he studied the oversized barrier erected just in case things went south.

The seals were supposed to prevent him from using his reiryoku, but with a barrier that large, it looked like Ichigo was cheating them during training.

Zangetsu nodded dumbly, but his focus was on the child fighting an assassin, both wielding nothing but blades. He wore a disappointed scowl as he noticed they were evenly matched.

The met in a cacophony of steel, blades crossing and disengaging instantly before meeting once more in a shower of sparks. The child was stronger, the force of his blows overshadowing that of his opponents, but he was less skilled when it came to the way of the blade. The assassin's shorter blade held against the onslaught, while his form slipped through the holes in the child's offence.

He could not counter though, and by the looks of things, he never intended to.

Ichigo would strike with an overhead slash, both hands on the falchion as it sailed downward, and the assassin would sidestep just enough that the blade sailed passed him. Even if Ichigo did change his direction mid-swing, a haphazard strategy, the assassin would simply deflect the blow away from his body. He did not once offer a counter, and that simply enraged the little boy.

They pair could easily see the ever-shifting expressions on the boys face, from anger that he was so evenly matched, to disbelief that he forgot to remove his training aid and the small tinge of fear that he might fail. The resolve was there, it would always be there when he held his sword intent on protecting, but the fear was gnawing at him, events long past returning, promising the exact same ending.

Zangetsu only allowed himself to grin when Ichigo took the path he himself took in battle; the path of the berserker.

The assassin finally chose to end things, closing the distance and lashing out with a thrust. Ichigo had time to parry, or attempt to parry, twice, but even then the shorter blade managed to weave through both strokes of the sword and pierce his flesh. That was when Ichigo did the unthinkable, lunging towards the opponent instead of jumping back to recover.

The blade was buried hilt deep in the child's shoulder when the power exploded outward, the Seals becoming undone as the injury took it's toll. He could only imagine the fear the assassin felt as he looked on, watching a wound that healed itself even as the blade stayed embedded in his flesh. He fell to his knees instantly, one to be judged before the a God of Death as the boy rendered judgment.

A solid blow to the temple, one that could have easily killed the assassin, was his sentence, the Hollow noting that there was still a steady rise and fall in his chest.

"I did it." Ichigo said weakly, the smile he wore as a child, a smile they only saw in memories, shining as they both descended.

Neither were surprised when he fell unconscious after.

Narius was the one who moved to carry the boy, the Hollow simply threw the would-be assassin over his shoulder as they walked to the camp in silence. No words needed to be said, but the soft smile and the maniac grin om their faces spoke of volumes of what they felt. Ichigo did what he could never had done a lifetime ago and with that he found peace in slumber.

Of course they were proud.

"Zangetsu, Narius, what happened?" Both froze as Aki slurred, shaking off slumber just as the two finished wrapping the exhausted boy in blankets.

"We've just finished training, Aki-sama, Ichigo's just got too tired and decided to sleep." Narius lied easily, Zangetsu sighed with relief as Aki nodded noncommittally.

"I see, I guess I should look over what we still have and see if I can cook something." She mumbled as patting her face awake as the two spirits began slowly walking away. "Oh, and Narius."

"Yes, Aki-sama?"

"Who's hanging off Zangetsu's shoulder?"

* * *

**AN **

**I'm sorry for the delay, but I really had to wait so I can say this.**

**HAPPY π DAY! YAY! Yes, I waited so that on this day, 3/14/15 I can upload this and celebrate the wonder that is math, and extremely delicious homemade apple pie. **

**Okay, now that that's done, on to the reviews and such:**

**Drake93: **Yeah, no. Sorry but when faced with two juggernauts of power, you tend to want to avoid instead of confront. Plus with all three in the mix, asking for a fight is a death wish.

**Friaku, gatesofhellkeeper, clw123cat: **Thanks, I try to do my best :)

**So now that that's done, the only thing I have left to say is, well see you next chapter. If you want to know some of it now though...**

**Preview: A very stern talking to, a Huntsman on a mission and a reunion.**

**This has been Proccit**

**Bye bye! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Reunion **

* * *

When Kaiser was told that he had an important mission, one that justified Brennan accompanying him, he was hard pressed to say he was not excited.

Okay, it was not like anyone would believe him, but he was not just excited. He was practically jumping for joy when he heard the news.

To be perfectly fair, as a freelance Huntsman stationed in one of the most isolated villages on the continent, he rarely got any action other than defending the border or looking for missing persons. It had it's charm, being a resident superhero, the one and only line of defense against the darkness, aside from Brennan of course, but as time passed it all just became so... boring.

Yeah, it turns out that when you do it enough times, even journeying to the farthest corners of the quadrant, would become something like routine. After a few weeks on the job, he could say without arrogance that every path, every building and every monster's lair was committed to memory. With such a small settlement under his responsibility, he was able to fully defend and fortify the area to such an extent that it would most likely take an entire day, twenty four hours of continuous assault to take down the bulwarks he erected just in case he was away when they struck.

Before he knew it, there was simply nothing interesting to do anymore, unless of course one would count the hell his younger companion put him through, the special brand of torture Brennan called 'training'. Of course, he would rather do a multitude of other things but it was a necessary task, one he preferred over lazing about no matter how much the people insisted otherwise.

For some reason, the townsfolk thought he was lazy since he was rarely seen doing anything other than lounging at his office. No one ever thought that it mean he was just that good.

Of course, the fact that he would act like a child so much, always loosing focus and all, did nothing to help his case.

That being said, when he was told of something that required his talents as a Huntsman, a task that would take him _away_ from the village for an indeterminate amount of time, he was simply ecstatic.

Finally, there was a moment to prove his worth as a Huntsman, a mission where failure meant certain death, but success would grantee fame fortune and of course, beautiful admirers.

He was not worried about the town; even if Brennan and he were away, it would survive in time for them to return. If nothing else, he could easily request the capital to send a substitute for the mean time, until he finished his dangerous mission. He was sure someone was bound to take the job of watching a lazy, monotonous town over joining him on a mission that, rumor had it, ensured the risk of death.

Some even said that completing the mission itself was impossible, so in true Huntsman fashion, he just had to go and join those brave, or stupid, enough to try.

"So we're just here to look for _another _missing person?" Needless to say, he was extremely disappointed when he realized that he was called to do something he could have easily done in his own town.

His prepubescent partner, though no one could get a good enough look at him from under his pitch black hood and coat, of course ignored the whining of the elder man and talked to their client. It was always much easier when he did the talking, as creepy as his much deeper voice was, since people tended to take the childish brown-haired man as seriously as they would a five year old.

On the worst of days, it was just that bad.

"Your mission, if you chose to accept it is to locate a Huntress by the name of Summer Rose who failed to return from a mission." A mechanical voice relayed the information, whether to simply mask the identity of their client or their client was somehow mute, they did not know. "The location and last confirmed transmission she sent will be sent to you after you officially accept. The payment will be as follows. You will receive half the agreed amount as soon as you accept and the other half when you have confirmed her found, either dead or alive. You have two hours to send confirmation."

Blue met brown as the transmission ended, the pregnant silence somewhat disturbing rather than comforting. "So what do you think?" The younger boy asked, long since removing his hood.

"It's a trap." Kaiser didn't even need to think about it, blurting out the first thing that reached his mind. And in a strange, twisted way, he knew he was right.

The setup was just so suspicious form the get go.

First they were recruited from one of the most isolated towns, so far from the capital that the pair were sure that there were some of their colleagues out there were betting on the time it would take for the town would succumb to the Grimm. From there, they were told to meet in a strange area; an empty clearing far enough from any inhabitable area on the map, literally no man's land.

There, on a strange altar, they found a scroll, already loaded with a recording.

So much information was missing as well, to be revealed only if they ever chose to accept the mission. Other things, such as their theater of operation, the estimated time the mission should take, other information on the person they were searching for, were also remarkably absent. That in itself seemed to be a red flag, normally a cause for them to leave the premises immediately if not for Kaiser's insistence. He seemed to be strangely interested in the strange device.

Kaiser could see that it struck Brennan as odd, especially when they each had a scroll of their own hanging from their belts.

The brown-haired man couldn't help but smile for once, finally coming across knowledge that eluded the younger man. "Got it." He whispered confidently, before handing the scroll to Brennan. "At least this explains why no one was willing to take the mission anymore." He said with a tone that expressed excitement more that disdain. It was almost like after discovering why it was impossible, he was still willing to disprove that theory.

Being a simple person, Kaiser felt that exact urge to rebel against what looked to be a foregone conclusion.

Brennan simply quirked an eyebrow as he read through the information. It was worrying that it truly did look to be impossible, but the question on the forefront of his mind was... "Did you accept the mission?" It was the most obvious path, the easiest at least, to get the information they required, but it did come at a cost. As Huntsmen, they were now hired as such it was their duty to see it through.

Kaiser's grin seemed to widen as Brennan expressed his lack of faith. "Me? Do something so stupidly irresponsible? Have you that little faith in me, Your Majesty?" Kaiser saw that once again, his younger companion was unflappable, Brennan not allowing even the slightest twitch to affect his countenance as he waited for an explanation. "Fine, I hacked the system. I had a hunch and it turns out I was right. It was never a message, just an encrypted file meant to open when we sent a message containing the words 'we', or 'I, accept the mission', in that order. Bypassing the encryption wasn't too hard after."

That little piece of information seemed to surprise his usually stoic companion, eliciting a more comfortable nod rather than pure outrage whenever he normally did something stupid. It did still raise a few questions though. "How did you figure out a method on hacking scrolls?" Brennan honestly didn't know what to make of that information. On one hand it was very useful whether to be used legally or illegally, on the other hand, there was only one way he learned such a skill.

"I don't think you want to find out." The uncharacteristically serious tone told him all he needed to know.

"Fair enough, I personally don't feel like berating you either." Brennan nodded before looking through the information once more before closing the scroll and returning it to where they originally found it.

After that, he began what he knew would be one of the longest walks he would ever take. "Hey, old man, where are we going?" Kaiser caught up just fine, looking down at the hooded teenager just before he managed to stray too far. He could hear the quiet sigh that escaped his lips and feel the strange apprehension welling up from the normally collected being,

Something was going to happen, something he didn't know if he was going to like.

"We've accepted the mission."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Night had already fallen, dinner was eaten and the lunchboxes were packed and ready. Breakfast the next day, no one knew how it stayed fresh only that it did, was already prepared while the only other supplies still in use was the sleeping bag Ichigo slumbered on. The sleeping form of a little boy beside a dwindling camp fire was alone in the dark, Narius, Zangetsu, and Aki were nowhere to be found.

Two of them were having a very important conversation, elsewhere.

At least five miles elsewhere.

"You let him get stabbed?" Aki asked with a face that betrayed nothing, and a tone that held no humor in it.

"That is correct." Narius wore the exact same stone-faced expression, replying in what could be called respectful deadpan.

"There was an assassin approaching my position, while I was incapacitated no less, and you let him confront the attacker, alone." She stated plainly. "With his Seals still active. After he finished your grueling training regiment without so much as a single utterance of complaint." It was not just the accusations she flung at him, but the way she said it in perfect detachment that made him weary of her.

She was human, below him in terms of power, but she was a Huntress all the same. She may not have remembered specifics but there were some traits that simply stayed, some things ingrained so deeply in the very soul that not even death could it wash away. Coupled with the fact that she was a mother and her son was threatened as she slept, it would suffice to say that she wasn't the happiest of people.

"Yes." He admitted shamelessly.

"He was armed, both of them were, but he was reduced to the level of a child." She reviewed, taking a few moments before she spoke next. "With a sword and pure will power he fought of an assassin of the White Fang whose sole purpose was the make sure he didn't walk out of that encounter alive. In the end, the assassin was dealt with and Ichigo survived."

"He won." Narius argued, taking a moment to weight his next supporting statement. It could have easily killed him if he said it wrong. "There will be no permanent injury, or any evidence of the stabbing."

"He could have easily died." Aki muttered harshly, her face still impassive even as a bit of anger bled through. "My child, was stabbed in the shoulder with a blade that could have been poisoned."

"It wasn't and he didn't." Careful crimson gazed the woman before him warily, as a worthy and extremely dangerous opponent in their contest of words. "There was no chance of defeat, whatsoever."

"That brings me back to my first point, you _let_ him get stabbed." Aki reiterated, the emphasis on that certain word far increasing the underlying sense of guilt he already felt.

"Would you like to know why?" He asked patiently, fully aware of the new can of worms he was opening. _Better to let her get it all off he chest._ He though grimly, silently cursing the absentee Zanpakutō.

"Do I want to know why?" The way she repeated it was venomous, almost bordering on murderous. "Are you seriously asking me if I want to know why you allowed something like this to happen? Are you asking me if I'm just a little bit curious as to what you two were thinking when you let my son, not even past ten years of age, fight an experienced, hardened, ruthless man whose one job description is to kill people? Are you implying that I don't even care that you had the gall to pit my son against an assassin? By all means enlighten me, Narius!"

He had to wince when her voice broke, the sheer volume putting too much stress on her throat that it climbed an octave or two higher in her sarcastic tirade. He was no longer in the presence of the monster behind the smile, he found himself confronting something much, much worse. She was angry at him, but more than that, she was just worried for Ichigo as a mother should.

It was no longer simply failing to clean up after eating, or not observing proper behavior, through her eyes, Ichigo could have been killed. Worst of all, he could have been killed in her sleep.

The mere fact that he was in life threatening danger was bad enough, the fact that she was nearby, so unaware of it all simply proved too much for her.

Narius sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and ignoring the pointed glare being directed at him. "You know why he did it right?"

"No, quite frankly I have no idea why he would want to go defend me himself after he was rendered the most ill-suited for the task." She lowered her voice but the tranquility she possessed was as gone with the wind as the would-be assassin. "He could have let you do it, right? You two are stronger by far, it shouldn't be too much trouble to flash or buzz in, knock him out and end the entire debacle."

"Not even Tessai-san told you then." Narius mumbled to himself for than anything, explaining before the woman before him could ask further. "Did either of them tell you how his mother, how you supposedly died all those years ago?" He never really liked talking about the intricacies of reincarnation, a messy business he went great lengths to avoid explaining.

"Someone supposedly absorbed my soul, pulling it out of my body and killing me, at least that's what they both said." She replied, quite unsure as to what the Fullbring was implying. Whenever Tessai or Ichigo for that matter, discussed the past, the era long past, they struggled to stay as objective as possible. They explicitly stated that they didn't want to project whoever his mother was on her. "Right?"

Silence was the worst way Narius could have replied, the momentary pause only better by a negligible margin. "Unfortunately, as correct as that is, it's not the full story. He would not have acted if it was that quick. The way you died was much, much less peaceful, and that's exactly why he blames himself for it. Decades had passed and he still could not accept the way you were taken from him."

"Then how?" Anger was gone, only curiosity and the promise of understanding remained. It was her right to know, not just as a reincarnation they believed but as his _mother_.

Narius had no choice but to explain everything.

"Only your power, your Aura as it is now, was taken. If it only ended there, we would not have such a problem." He began morbidly, his downcast eyes reflecting the light of the fire and the sorrow within his soul. "You were fighting a Hollow as we called it, something like a Grimm but vastly different. If you had your Aura then you would have taken it down with as much effort as you would a fly..."

"Without it, I was as helpless as a child." Aki blurted out, her fist clenching as Narius nodded in confirmation.

"Again, if that was it then it would have not been so emotionally scarring to Ichigo, but you refused to die." A wry smile tugged on the corners of his mouth as his eyes glossed over, seeing the event unfold rather than the woman sitting before him. "You were strong, Aki, you fought back no matter the odds but there's a reason why we need heroes, they kill the monsters. Monsters kill men."

"He watched it happen." She shook here head, her words not a question that needed confirmation anymore, just as simple, cruel truth. "Survivor's guilt?"

"Something like that, closer to Inferiority Complex following Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Narius answers helplessly. "He watched his mother die before his very eyes; no one would blame him for breaking after that. But from a child's perspective, he failed something he was born to do, something he was_ named _for. That must have hit him harder than anything else."

"So he tries to hide it all behind a scowl." She guessed, again gaining a nod of confirmation. "My poor baby boy's been shouldering so much pain and it's all my fault..."

"He would deny that it was ever your fault." She gave him a small hollow smile at his attempt at encouragement before her eyes turned to the direction of the faraway campsite. "That's exactly why we let him go alone. He needed to do it to move on, and I don't even think it worked as well as it did." Narius' tone was spiteful, but his anger was directed not at the woman but at the hand fate had dealt them.

Aki looked up curiously. "Huh? I thought all he wanted to do was protect me? Doesn't that mean that everything should be fine now? Shouldn't he start getting better?"

"He has, but then again it's so deeply ingrained in him that I don't think it would go away so easily." Narius held his chin between his thumb and forefinger before continuing. "If I'm not mistaken, he already protected you from the creatures of Grimm once before, when you found each other the first time. There was no change even from our side. There was greater resolve to protect, but no forgiveness."

Narius saw it in his eyes when they fought, Ichigo truly had grown and desperately tried to protect everyone he could. He sought power, no, the ability to master the power he had, all in the name of living up to his name. He wanted to be the greatest protector there was, his resolve burned for that goal while his actions all revolved around achieving it.

He never, _ever _wanted to repeat that mistake again; and therein lied the problem. He still thought of that night as his fault, as a mistake he committed and a sin he had to atone for.

Forgiveness and acceptance were strangers to him, while only more responsibility was placed on his shoulders.

They both hated that Ichigo was doing this to himself.

"So what am I supposed to do, just ignore it when he gets himself into trouble?" Aki's voice returned to it's original softness, though her tone dripped with cynicism. "He's my son, I refuse to believe that watching him enter the fray again and again will make him better. It's just so damn frustrating!" She screamed into the night, whatever power she possessed, her Aura, flared wildly.

Narius responded in kind, his reiatsu increasing though only to defend against the burst of power the woman excluded and try to give her some comfort.

Green seemed to embrace her, not the Fullbring's true green but one more akin to Kaido's nurturing glow, attempting to heal wounds of the Soul that were not there.

In time her, anger subsided as well, leaving her tired and empty. "Why does he have to do that? Can't he see we worry about him too?" She asked Narius, though she knew exactly what he would say in response. She wouldn't have any of it. "I'm know he want's to protect everybody, but why does he hate it when we try and protect him? I'm his mother, it's my goddamn right to coddle him!"

"We'll help him get better, Aki-sama." Narius placed a gentle hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "If it takes years, we will make sure he finally gets over this."

She didn't respond immediately, and when she did it was in the form of a question. "Do you know why I know I'm a Huntress, Narius?"

The question came from out of the blue, in the form of something, by unspoken agreement, was almost forbidden. Whenever Aki received her flashes of inspiration, she usually informed Ichigo first, the other spirits learning of the knowledge through their one-way bond with the child. Even as they stayed with the old captain, he was there when she shared information on her past, or at least what fragments she had of her past.

This was the first time she would reveal her history without Ichigo's ever-vigilant ears present.

He looked at her curiously, not at all prepared for the question, but he shook his head in response.

"I did it to protect people." She said proudly, her smile outshining the burning campfire that kept the cold at bay.

Narius could only smile in response. After everything that happened, it wasn't surprise that was the ultimate motivation for taking up arms against the forces of darkness. They were mother and son after all.

"I wanted to be a protector, someone who would make sure nothing bad happened to people." She continued with an almost saccharine tone, a prelude to the bitterness that would follow.

She spoke with the tone of what might have been, or what maybe even was but was now long past, but there was something... haunted about it. It was obviously not simply about death changing her perspective, something, an event, a person maybe, changed her. He had to fight the sardonic chuckle welling up from his throat. _Mother and son, indeed. These two have far too much in common._

With eyes trained to find the slightest doubt in an opponent's movement, the slightest hesitation anywhere on the body, Narius saw. "What happened?"

"I failed." Her smile didn't lose its luster, if anything happened it simply began to shine even more. The smile that haunted that dark and dreary day for so long appeared on the woman who died, a smile that shined with the light of a kaleidoscope, beautifully prismatic. And yet, no matter how much light it shed, how enchanting it was, nothing was going to change the fact that it was fundamentally broken.

He didn't want to admit it, but it was the exact same smile he and by extension Ichigo wore when the scowl or fake smile just wasn't enough.

"I lost people, from single individuals to entire cities. All of them hurt, injured, broken... dead." She whispered, the beginning of tears wetting the edge of her eyes. "And every time I did I just had to ask myself, 'Why wasn't I good enough?' Friends I can't even remember anymore all said it was natural, that it just happens sometimes, but I had to know why I couldn't protect them."

He watched her in silence, keeping his distance while lending whatever comfort he could provide. In the beginning, he saw a mother consumed by righteous anger but as they spoke she changed. Now all before him was a broken woman, harried by the storm that was life and now even changed by death, but she still tried. No matter what, she carried on, form then until now.

She was beaten down, brought low by everything, but she was still undefeated.

"Did you ever find your answer?" He asked, gaining better look at Ichigo's adoptive mother.

For all he knew, if they just met that night, if he based all he knew on that conversation, he would swear they were the same person.

She smiled in response, more naturally this time. There was no grief or pain anymore. No sorrow plagued her, and it seemed that even the last incident was discarded, thrown away as the past usually was. She faced him with an emotion he could only dream of seeing on Ichigo, the one thing he most desperately needed, an expression he only saw once before at the time of the greatest war even fought.

Proud acceptance illuminated her countenance.

"If you found out that there would always be a choice when it came to those things. After everything, I can still remember three questions you have to always ask yourself." She breathed, leaning back as she propped herself up on her arms. "You will have to ask yourself if you are willing to die for what your doing. You also have to ask yourself if the people you leave behind are strong enough to take it."

Then there was silence. Narius had to raise a careful brow at the woman before him who grinned like an idiot. He idly entertained the thought that he looked like that to Ichigo and Zangetsu but brushed it aside just as easily. He knew just how irritating he looked, and Aki, the way she smiled with the light soft and gentle like the stars slowly coming out above them, simply looked happy.

It was one of the rare calms their short and strange life in the new dimension, though curiosity soon won over quite contentment.

"Are you really going to make me ask?" He finally broke the silence, resignation lining his tone yet none of the sorrow that came with it. It was almost like a child who would finally concede to a trick being played on him, if not by his friends, than by his parents. She simply stuck out her tongue in response. "Fine, you win. What, pray tell, is the third question?"

"You have to ask yourself if the sacrifice of self is absolutely necessary in the first place."

It was just commonsense after all. Narius couldn't help but laugh.

It was not a chuckle, not just a simple patronizing breath of mirth, but roaring laughter. Tremors shook his form, as the peals of joy came breathlessly in a torrent of sound. Aki simply sat to the side, enjoying the sound as Narius lost himself in the irony of it all. He was the only one who truly knew what he was, and for something like that, the true aspect he embodied, to be laughing like a giddy child was unlike him. It perfectly mirrored the fact that it was indeed unlike Ichigo to think of himself, even if others did worry about his wellbeing.

_If anything, it just means I am a part of him._ Narius thought wryly, though he would never know if it was just the laughter middling his thoughts or true inspired insight. He did regain his bearings moments after, collapsing on the sand, heedless to its invasion of his immaculate clothing. If he could only make Ichigo see reason, if just in those words, then everything could change.

For the better, he hoped.

"Unfortunately, Ichigo forgets to ask the last most often." Narius breathed wistfully, directing his own gaze skyward. "No matter what, it's always 'let it be me' with him. It got so bad that an enemy called him out on it." He laughed, but it was bittersweet, the aftertaste of medicine that would never reach the affliction. "His answer was noble, but he didn't understand the true meaning of the question."

"It's crazy to try and protect everything with your own two hands. It's just an ideal in the end, something to strive for but never attain." She agreed, shaking her head as a flash of red illuminated the horizon, pulling evening back to twilight for the briefest of moments. "But then again, both of you are just parts of him, right? Maybe... maybe we can convince him he has to protect himself too."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Zangetsu paid no mind to the guttural growls and feral roars behind him as he walked forward with purpose.

He tolerated the White Fang because he was bored. He terrorized them for the very same reason, but he never did anything to outright endanger their lives.

When he would leave them beaten and bruised, he would make sure that they survived long enough for their allies to come and bring them back to their shabby base of operations. It didn't really count since there were other factors involved but he swept the forest clean of Grimm again and again, therefore ensuring that they had a relatively safe theater of operations.

The only hostile in the area was him, and he would only run in to them by coincidence.

When they hunted down the King the first time, a mistake he did not foresee, he allowed them to attack because he could defend himself. The King still dueled like a monster, a fact proven time and again since the first time they took to battle in the skies above the forest, even if they could not see what was happening due to whatever Kidō the King might have propped up on a whim.

That was just the King though, as soon as he ran out of steam, he even managed to stick the little sword through where his heart should be, fighting Narius was a completely different board game.

He didn't even erect a barrier to keep the three idiots from seeing, he wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the forest saw what they were doing in the sky. He would have been crackling with glee if the fight wasn't a grudge match, an attempt on payback for what that pansy did to him when they fought in the King's inner world the last time. This was a fight, not a friendly spar he had with the King at times.

He didn't know whether to be angry or excited that the Fullbring didn't disappoint.

They were equally matched, though only because that infuriating bastard had the balls to split his powers in a fight, one portion focused on keeping the forest standing and the other just enough to _defend _against the Hollow's own attacks. If he didn't know better, he would insist that Narius didn't even take hims seriously, but he did.

Narius was simply so much of a dick that he did, in fact, bring his full power to bear that day, just not in the form one would use in a serious, life-or-death grudge match. The power he didn't use to halfheartedly try to pummel Zangetsu into the dirt was defensive in nature. He pumped enough energy in the forest that it was like someone took a portion of the sun, turned it into paint and dumped it on every inch of the area, from the _air_ to every pebble on the ground below them.

Hell, even _he_ managed to absorb some of the Fullbring's golden glow, a power familiar yet foreign to him.

When it all ended, and they settled things, they focused their attention on the three faunus that watched the entirety of their battle. Or at least the parts when they weren't moving too fast that they eye could only see the afterimages of _afterimages._ He almost laughed when they didn't try to kill him this time, only begging that they be left alone if they didn't try anything stupid.

They weren't even worth his time, not even as training dummies for the King, so he let them go.

He didn't think much of it. The White Fang as an organization was useless and boring while they had better things to do, like tear up the continent looking for the old man so both the King and he could give the bastard a piece of their minds. He didn't think they would try anything stupid, not just because the three had told him so, but simple because it was counter-intuitive to even try to antagonize them.

Against a threat like they were, he thought the White Fang would just let them go peacefully, if not because they were smart then because they were scared.

It turned out that they weren't.

He would have forgiven them if they attacked one of the three who fought, namely himself, Narius or the King.

That would be classified as a warm-up for whatever training they had on that day; no harm done.

At the end of the short and pointless encounter, one of them would bring whatever party attacked them back to the only White Fang base they knew, the one at the forest.

That would be good speed training as well, so again it all just worked in their benefit.

A third advantage was if he was the one who did the returning then any Grimm along the way would be food, and more power for him.

All good things when all things were considered.

But, no, they didn't accept their weakness. They lived under the heel of man for far too long to accept another power trampling over them like ants. They wanted to strike back after such a blatant slight, and so they did. They sent a single assassin in hopes that he would be able to off them all at a distance; no muss, no fuss, no mess and no trouble. The assassin was stealthy too, obviously experienced.

If that was all they tried to do, they would fail, but again, no hard feelings.

But they had taken things too far this time, trying to take advantage of their sleeping mother while they were all distracted.

As patient as they were when it came to fighting people weaker than them, there was just so much they could take before they eventually snapped.

"I'll take care of this... trash" The words of the Cuatro felt strange but even he had enough tact to know when he could curse. In front of the King's seething mother was not one of those places.

He disappeared soon after, his anger a raging inferno that could only be seen through his golden eyes.

He had work to do.

He managed to reach the base just before the stroke of midnight, when the moon was at it's peak and all in the forest was still.

"Stop right..." The word died in the sentry's throat when he saw what he tried to halt.

Zangetsu was the visage of terror, a demon surrounded by the all-consuming darkness of the night while behind him, the demons growled and struggled against his iron grip. The top portion of his kimono was undone, exposing his hollow hole for all to see while wrapped around his arms were Spirit Ribbons, illuminating the entrance of their base with a soft crimson glow.

Multitudes of Grimm were wrapped in his corrosive Spirit Ribbons. The binds made from his own Hollow reiryoku compressed and made manifest were more than enough to begin digesting the soulless creatures with but a touch. He dragged them through the dirt as they howled in suffering, draining them of their strength on the way to his destination and filling the night with their feral clamoring.

He did not carry his sword but his mask was no longer simply donned. It merged with his visage, allowing him to use the rows of savage teeth that came with the demon mask to tear meat from the limb he held aloft. He relished the look of fear in the sentry as he slowly devoured the broken arm of a bear-like creature, crushing flesh, bone, and all with the strength of his maw.

The sentry fainted before he could even finish eating the severed limb.

He entered the corridor, ignoring the cries of fear and alarm as he yanked his captives forward, taking a moment to pause in between each slow step as they attempted to mount a defense.

Before him was a small coalition of faunus, all masked and armed to the teeth with various firearms. They faced him with the gaze of resolve, of defiance and strength while he smiled patronizingly.

He had time to turn, rip another limb off one of the creatures of Grimm before he faced a wall of bullets.

It was a child's toy pistol attempting to bring down an iron wall.

At the range they fired and with the Hollow trapped in a somewhat narrow corridor, missing was impossible. Zangetsu didn't even bother to evade, Steel Skin deflecting their feeble projectiles even as they flew at him at supersonic speeds. He simply chewed and swallowed, the sound of the Grimm's howls and bones breaking as he ate drowned out by the thunder of gunfire as it echoed into the night.

He could see it oh so clearly.

They were afraid.

It was a reaction he got much too often and yet he not once did he regret seeing the primal fear on the faces of his enemies. They recognized his strength, they recognized the gap that separated him, a veritable god of the void, and them, lowly beings who have angered him. They revered him in the most base manner, they would do anything in their power to escape his wrath. And for very good reason.

He enjoyed observing their expressions, still somewhat visible even behind the masks they wore, as they shifted from hardened resolve to broken fear. They fought with tenacity often found only in a cornered beast, one with nothing left to lose, but even as he ate, as he stood there and shrugged off bullets fired from their weapons, they slowed. Doubt cracked their masks of resolve, slowly but surely until he could see the slight twinge of fear in them.

Moments in deafening thunder past as the sliver of fear grasped at their hearts and turned doubt into desperation. They no longer fought to kill him, they began fighting just to survive.

In response he did nothing.

He simply ate, ignoring the cries of protests from the beasts wailing in pain behind him.

He simply stood, or rather he made certain the projectiles hurled at him stuck only him, protecting his food lest they fade away.

He simply waited, eyeing them with golden eyes as they slowly broke down before him.

He smiled when they finally ran out of ammunition, though he suspected it was more likely that they gave up trying to kill him.

"**Who's in charge?**" He asked, his voice echoing even before it left his mouth, overpowering the sound of the Grimm's roaring. To further hammer the point down, his Spirit Ribbons glowed brighter, forever silencing the foul monsters as what little power that allowed them to exist was absorbed into the Hollow's hole before fading away entirely. "**Do not make me ask again, who is in charge!**"

The walls quaked at the sound of his voice, gust of wind sending dust through the narrow passage. He would have smiled when he realized that his voice alone was at par with the Sixte Espada when he was released. Granted it was not as strong, but he did not even need to roar to produce an effect. But that was a joy for another time. would have his vengeance before reveling in his new-found power.

"We-we wo-won't t-tell you an-any-anything!" His eyes nailed whoever screamed in defiance to the spot, looking through the very soul of the child, not even a teenager, who decided to defy him.

In a flash, only inches separated the boy's face from the tips of his horns. "**Tell me, kid,**" He grabbed the boy's neck and hoisted him up even before he could gasp, carefully measuring his grip so that he did not crush the boy's throat before he meant to. "**What do you think is the smarter thing to do, tattle on your boss, or die?**" Even before he could get a reply, he pushed forward.

With the strength he possessed, it was like flinging the boy to the nearest soldier.

"You're just going to kill us all anyway!" Another screamed, desperation rather than fear palpable in his voice. "Why should we help you if we're all just going to die after?"

Murmuring slowly turned to angry cries as they rallied, finding fault in the demon as they tried to reach for their weapons. He gave them a chance, watching in silence as they scrambled for new firearms, in a vain attempt at defending themselves against him. He silenced them with a growl before they could gain any more momentum, crushing what little hope they had left with a sound.

A clawed hand was raised before he tore at the air, creating a black void in space itself before he reached into it. He pulled out the assassin by the neck before slamming him into the ground with enough force to break bone, kicking him towards the mass of people on the other side of the passage after scoffing with disgust. He had made sure the vermin was alive before kicking him aside like trash.

Not even the King would appreciate him killing things with souls, even after what they tried to do with his mother. It was endearing at times, but sometimes it was weakness to glaring to overlook.

So he settled for scaring the shit out of them.

"**He's not dead yet, you can see for yourselves.**" He spat, nodding towards the body before continuing. "**But if any of you ever try something like that again, all of you will be.**"

He turned around, eyeing the way he entered with a venomous glare.

His plan had failed. Originally, he thought of raging into the center of command, ploughing through any opposition before making his message known, but he just had to settle for telling the people at the door. Seeing the child brought out, not quite mercy or sympathy, but something closer to guilt in him. Narius and the old man would know, if Ichigo never found out, and the two would hold it over him for the rest of eternity if he injured children no more than he already had. He couldn't even trash most of their base, underlining their weakness by rendering their bastion to nothing but rubble.

That would kill everyone, and if he wasn't eating them, which he couldn't do anyway, then it was a waste of perfectly good Souls.

Still, he would not go without destroying something.

He extended his fist, the offending limb aimed towards the ceiling and roared.

The Bala was massive, almost twice the size of his head, horns and all, the orb fully visible for a moment before it exploded against the ceiling, before hurtling into the night. A secondary burst of power forced it to detonate, bathing the forest and beyond in its crimson glow before the flash faded. Satisfied with his show of destruction, he turned to face them once last time.

He did not spare them from seeing his smile, twisted bone white teeth arranged in a mockery of feral glee before he left them to their devices.

In an instant, he was gone, leaving nothing but silence as he left them in their terror.

"**Please, try again.**" Even if his form had vanished, his words still hung in the air, haunting whoever heard the harrowing echo. "**I can't help but wonder how real Souls taste like.**"

His final warning said, he left the forest floor and took the sky, hanging against the black new moon in anticipation.

Part of him wanted them to come out, to see whether he did leave at all. He wanted an excuse to crash from the heavens and simply erase the base from the face of the world. It would be easy enough, he reasoned, just a simple swing of the sword, just a Cero was required and then nothing would be left. He wanted to consume them, to ensure that even if they do reincarnate, they would be clean slates.

But he knew none of them would appreciated it if he did. If they did feel anything, they would be horrified he did something so... severe as consuming and assimilating their souls before throwing whatever was left into the void. It wasn't as permanent as the death by Holy Arrow, but then again it was a very close competitor, absorbing the entirety of a being's soul until nothing is left but a bare, pure soul.

He shook his head in disappointment, dismissing the mask he wore before turning away, intent on joining Narius before Aki shook him up too much.

No matter how much he argued with the other spirit, even he wouldn't wish the ire of an angry mother on him.

"Looks like you two got along just fine without me." He chimed in happily, appearing with the characteristic static drone just in time to witness a strange scene.

He had no time to laugh though, as soon as he saw Aki's smile.

"I understand why you allowed it." She began, the last of the ease that her expression promised gone with the wind. "But that doesn't mean I will condone such a thing happening. So..."

That night, Aki fell asleep with the moon three quarters across the sky, with a content Ichigo nestled against her chest for safety.

Neither Narius not Zangetsu could stop shuddering until after breakfast.

They shared but one thought throughout their hours of reflection.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. The only thing more terrifying than a woman's scorn is a mother's righteous ire. _

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo was very... conflicted when he began training with his Hollow.

On one hand, he was absolutely rapt with wonder when he began training with Zangetsu.

On the other, he felt extremely weak when he finally glimpsed the true power of his blade.

"You just looked at that thing." Ichigo could only gasp as the surplus energy fizzled out of existence, the giant avian Grimm the Hollow killed fading away as it fell from the sky. Yellow eyes looked back at the boy with a mixture of condescension and superiority as he just left his jaw hanging. "You look at that thing and it exploded." He mumbled, aptly summarizing the event that occurred not a moment ago.

Quite literally from out of the blue, a giant bird swooped down from the heavens as they finished breakfast.

All it took was for Zangetsu to glance at the avian Grimm before it promptly exploded in a shower of crimson and obsidian.

He'd been training for a while now, with Narius primarily to augment his physical skill rather than his spiritual power, but even the Fullbring agreed that it would only go so far. Unfortunately for all the power Narius had, power even Zangetsu would admit to, his skill with the sword was at par with Ichigo's. His attacks were devoid of style, simple linear strikes delivered with such speed and power that it would be impossible to block or dodge. He battled with brute force more often than not, and with Ichigo as his opponent, there was no hope for defeat.

So when one day, the same day Ichigo finally managed to keep his Fullbring armor on for at least three hours, Narius called Zangetsu to start training the boy, all were suprised.

The Hollow easily replied that they would be going through hell the very next day.

"That king, is one of the weaker versions of Cero, the Cero Córnea." Zangetsu explained, the grin on his face not waning in the slightest."You were hit with it by that Tesra bastard a while back when Kenpachi still had to save your ass. Not the strongest move in the book, but I'd be damned if it wasn't useful in a pinch." Yellow suddenly turned orange as, if it was possible, his grin grew even wider.

He didn't even voice warning when an impossibly thin beam flew from his Hollow's eyes, right at his position. He had to force reiryoku into his feet to dodge, the beam not being as powerful as the one produced between his Hollow's horns, but in this form it was much, much faster. He managed to find his blade when a second one followed instantaneously, though the backlash was more than anticipated.

He was disarmed even before a third struck his body, the burst of energy detonating even before it met the boy's bone armor but even so, the rippling shockwave was more than enough to throw the child onto the sand with power to spare. In contrast to his final battle with the first substitute, he had to grab at the air after he bounced upwards, the force of the blow carrying much farther than he calculated.

When he finally stopped, several meters above the ground they started on and several more meters farther, all he could see was his insufferable hollow smiling like a child.

In anger he found his strength, channeling as much energy into the makeshift blade that he could see scintillating cracks running along his Fullbring's length, before taking a breath and raising the ruined blade. As far as he knew, his Fullbring was just like before, centered on his badge, but this was the first time he ever saw the blade being broken. With the power thrumming in his hands, he could only guess that any more power and the blade itself would shatter. He smiled with satisfaction, mirroring the wicked grin on his Hollow's mask, it was just what he was aiming for.

"Getsuga Tenshō!" With the technique's name as his battle cry, he released the compressed energy in a crescent of magnitude never seen in his Fullbring.

The wave of power consumed the air around the boy, bleeding energy like the crackling Thunder Cannon he so favored. It twisted and warped with the amount of pure energy that fueled it.

He wasn't at all surprised when the Hollow batted it away with his bare hand. "Come on King, at least give me a warm-up!"

Ichigo could only frown, tensing in anticipation as the Hollow blurred out of sight. Contrary to it's name, Sonido didn't necessarily require the dull drone it produced to work. It was somewhat of a side effect, but one that could be nullified when the practitioner had enough skill. More often than not, it was that sudden change, from characteristic buzz to complete silence that signaled death or defeat.

Ichigo knew better than to trust just his ears when fighting his Hollow, or anyone for that matter, after training against captains that specialized in illusions.

_There!_ Ichigo found himself stifling down confusion as he raised his blade to block an overhead slash that came directly from in front. He needed to grasp the flat of his blade as unholy strength crashed down upon him, flinging him from his lofty position in the air and cratering the ground beneath him. He could try and fight back, try to overwhelm the massive force that held him down but it would be futile. He knew his hollow was strength above all else, and his element it battle was speed, he abused that advantage he had mercilessly.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he broke away, the giant khyber grinding against the shorter falchion before it struck ground, giving Ichigo the spit second he needed the react. Using the tension that built as he blocked the massive blade, he pushed on his own cracked weapon and lashed out, bisecting his Hollow from waist to shoulder with a single slash.

He expected a great many things to follow after that, what he didn't expect was the attack to actually work. The maniac grin on his Hollow's face just added to his apprehension.

Ichigo could do nothing as a fist consumed his vision. Before he knew it, he was sent hurtling away by the sheer force of the blow. "Nice counter!" Zangetsu cheered almost sincerely as the deep wound healed in moments, something Ichigo had to watch while flying away. His Hollow wasn't finished yet, the giant weapon in his hand beginning to blur as it was spun by the bandages that made it's hilt.

His own falchion shattered when he tried to repel the great sword thrown at a speed that eclipsed his own, effectively disarming him as the tip of the cleaver buried itself in his bone armor. He would not gasp in pain as his body fell, instead opting to spit the blood the pooled within his mouth as he glared at his own Zanpakutō, the monochrome spirit beaming back at the child like nothing was wrong.

Make no mistake, he very much preferred this type of training over what Tessai and Narius put him through, but he would say that the black was white before he said his Hollow was a kind teacher.

The bastard was a sadist, Ichigo being a child notwithstanding.

The orange-haired child stood his ground when Zangetsu yanked at the bandage, calling back the bloodied white blade back to his hand with the same smile as Ichigo flinched but for an instant. A small hand reached over his brow before he grasped dark energies and pulled in a motion so familiar, yet strangely different now that he was in a human body.

Zangetsu was not a total failure as a teacher, at times he would actually speak and clarify what they were supposed to be practicing or what they were trying to achieve. The problem in itself was that Hollow techniques were _instinctual_ by nature, which meant that as easy as it was to modify the technique to suit the needs of the wielder, learning how to use the most basic moves was almost impossible.

Well, it would be completely impossible if the one trying to learn wasn't pushed to his very limits and _forced_ to use it to survive, hence the battle with the nihilistic Cuatro Espada.

Ichigo used all the most basic of Hollow techniques before, the Cero, the Bala, the Hierro, even the Pesquisa, but that was during life or death situations where he was forced to act instead of think. He _knew_ how to use them, but only in those types of situations, as such, if they could replicate such circumstances in a more controlled environment, there was a chance that he would learn to use them at will.

Of course, there was still the part where they fought to the death.

Ichigo thought that it would harder to try and fight the spirit head on when he realized that, one, Zangestu was indeed his sword other than his inner Hollow, and two, the latter was much more powerful than he was. It turned out that when push came to shove, he would try to fight for his survival, no matter how strong the opponent seemed to be. It was just simple, base, survival instinct.

The grin Zangetsu wore when Ichigo found his resolve was nothing short of horrifying.

The message was sent across: Stop holding back.

And so they did.

The power that emanated from the both of them skyrocketed when Zangetsu mirrored the action, though what was once dark as night and red as blood battled against the stained blue sky and the golden radiance of the sun. As quickly as it appeared, the absolute darkness of the void and the sheer luminescence that rivaled even the sun vanished as the two combatants faced each other once more.

No words were needed to signal the next clash, the hand of god striking the very ground they clashed above as soon as their blades met once more and dark crimson stared into hateful yellow. As they stood above the crater the shockwave created by the opening strike, not a mote of dust remaining when the very air was banished from space, Ichigo could swear the was a sliver of pride in the Hollow's eyes. It was pride that soon turned to anger as the massive blade pushed back, sending the smaller combatant skyward with a single swing of his sword.

Ichigo could only brace against the slash that followed nigh instantaneously, the fact that he was sent hurtling though the heavens doing nothing to slow his hollow's progress. Wind roaring in his ears, Ichigo flew with his back the heavens and both hands on his sword as his Hollow continued lashing out in a maelstrom of blows, a monsoon of steel that could only be comparable to his battle in Bankai.

If it was even possible, his Hollow struck even faster than the time he deflected one hundred billion blades _simultaneously._

He admitted his Hollow was fast, but that didn't mean he was unbeatable.

_Compress the reiatsu, focus._ Ichigo thought from behind his makeshift shield as he stared at the Hollow guffawing in his madness. _Just like Tessai said, focus the energy in one place. Release!_

The blast was magnificent, a bolt of golden energy, pure and brilliant, that tore the sky as the hollow was sent streaking back into the earth.

A second sun appeared in the heavens for but an instant, outshining the first with the light of a thousand newborn stars before it detonated, sending clouds in disarray while the heavens itself blinded the earth below. It was the most powerful release of power Ichigo used since they left Tessai's care, a wave of pure destruction that left nothing to chance; an attack that, for once since the time he started training, held all the power his child-like body could muster.

The best part of the technique? He actually achieved his goal, a blinding halo of light surrounded his masked eyes as he looked down at his Hollow with a sheepish smile behind his mask.

They were sure that if it weren't for the barrier they set up before they began their battle, everyone for miles around would have noticed the skies turning white with blinding luminescence.

"**You actually did it, and all it took was to try and kill you.**" Zangetsu commented sarcastically, resting his sword on his back just as he raised his hands in mock applause, the slow rhythm of palms meeting grating on the boy's nerves. His appearance was even more of an eyesore, the Hollow practically unscathed. If not for his torn kimono and singed mane of hair, most would question if the battle ever occurred in the first place. "**Are you ready for the next move?**"

Ichigo had not time to take a breath and reply as the Bala struck his own mask, shattering it with a burst of black energy. "**On second thought...**" At least Zangetsu had the decency to stifle his laughter as he descended, allowing Ichigo to keep pace as he walked down the invisible staircase. "**I think that was enough excitement for one day.**"

"What, no more beat downs?" Ichigo yelled back, crossing his arms as he appeared beside the Hollow in a flash of green light. Disappointment clouded his countenance as his mask was shattered so easily, yet he could not help try and antagonize the Hollow, this being the first time Zangetsu stopped their training himself. "No more insults, no more games, no more riddles?"

"No need." The look Zangestu returned when he glanced at the boy over his shoulder could only be described as primal blood lust. It was the face of a monster, excited yet enraged at the conflict that was to occur, consequences be damned. In truth, Ichigo did not know whether to be curious, or honestly afraid of his inner Hollow. "The master of riddles approaches, I need my strength."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_Of course something like this would happen._ Kaiser concluded, knocking the last bandit out cold with a single punch before rounding about to check on Brennan's own progress.

He wasn't at all that surprised when he saw the boy who looked much younger that him sitting around at least five fallen bodies, all unconscious instead of dead.

That was one of the problems he had to deal with when living outside the kingdoms, anarchy was positively rife. Aside from the lack of support from anyone, each village and town was constantly under assault, not just by the Creatures of Grimm, but by other, less scrupulous parties; bandits in general. The main problem was the fact that the bandits they faced were powerful, very hard to deal with.

It only made sense considering everything. Since, like them, the bandits were also alone in the monster's world, where at any time one of them could leap from the shadows and annihilate them, they should have the ability to defend themselves, to fight the monsters that kill so many others, and win. Kaiser could respect their strength, though the way they used it was a different matter.

It made them very fun to fight, but more often than not, it was an annoyance. It made it much harder to fight them off without killing them.

Still, it was quite the quandary they found themselves in when they were surrounded by several bandits who appeared from out of the blue. No, the ensuing battle was nothing more but moderate exercise, what really made them think was the reason the bandits struck, and so perfectly too.

They were under no illusion that they weren't known; Huntsmen no matter how isolated, were always respected and given proper recognition, no matter where they were or where they came from.

That simply made the problem seem more outrageous then; why would simple bandits, their strength noted, challenge them?

Desperation was a very weak argument, as everyone knew that it was easier to fight monsters than to fight anyone who kills those monsters for a living.

It was insanity that no one in their right mind would risk, the cons far outweighing the pros when one simply took the time to look and see. The bandits they encountered up to that point did nothing but observe their prey like proper hunters, always giving up when they knew that the battle would yield no benefit for them.

What had changed between them, the idiots who thought to fight and were lying defeated, and the others who simply gave up?

They could also be hired hands, but again there was the issue of benefit over risk. They should have accepted defeat before ever encountering a trained Huntsman, and even if they didn't know it, a teenager who could wipe the floor with the said trained Huntsman. They were taking on a suicide mission, willingly, and that was something no self respecting bandit ever did.

What could have convinced them it was worth it?

What should have the employer promised so that they were willing to rush to their possible deaths against a man who could take down monsters and an even stronger teenager?

Again, just thinking about it seemed to just increase the number of unanswered questions

"Why do you think they attacked, Brennan?" Kaiser looked to his companion, who leaned his cheek on his fist in thought. Kaiser knew that he wasn't the smartest person in the world, hell he knew that half of the people around him called him an idiot behind his back and the other half did it to his face, so getting the input of the other boy shouldn't have been too much of a blow to his ego.

Brennan never did comment on his intelligence, that was not to say the younger boy found no way to aggravate the Huntsman.

After a pregnant silence, Brennan turned aged azure eyes on the brown-haired Huntsman. With the aura of regal confidence he wore like his ever-shifting black cloak he took a breath. "I have no idea."

It's amazing how a few simple words could floor a Huntsman.

"Did you really need to do that?" Brennan simply smiled as Kaiser pulled himself to his feet, scratching his head in annoyance. "I get your whole identity revolves around mystery and all, but do you have do pull of some dramatic shit all the time?" The younger's expression turned sober, but before he could open his mouth in reply, Kaiser had already raised. "Don't answer that, please just stop."

"You are not the most... patient, are you Kaiser?" Brennan queried, a hint of mirth in his piercing eyes.

They accepted the mission, sure, but when one called it impossible, Kaiser would usually jump for joy. That was his reaction a few weeks ago. Since then, reality did an excellent job disillusioning the childish Huntsman. In the beginning, they literally had nothing to go on other than her original position. Of course they checked, just another desolate mountain clearing where snow seemed to fall endlessly.

No what truly caught their attention was a place just a few miles of the place.

It could not be considered part of Vytal, not even part or Remnant with the way it looked, much less the way it felt. Hell would be somewhat of an exaggeration while heaven was definitely out of the question when they saw the strange blackness that permeated the very ground and air within a perfectly circular area. They could feel nothing, something Brennan seemed to expect, but as the air was hazy and tinted, the ground itself was pitch black with the smooth texture of obsidian but the strength of pure Dust. A more in-depth examination of the area revealed deposits of Dust extending miles.

All of that was well and good, but there was something even more troubling about the area: Grimm tended never to try to cross the invisible barrier keeping the blackness in.

The pair couldn't help but think that they feared the place for a reason.

A reason Brennan himself tried to deny.

That was their last lead, as there was no more villages in miles of the godforsaken wasteland. He hated doing it but Kaiser agreed that they should turn back when Brennan urged them to do so.

The question came from there, Kaiser could only assume, when he voiced his opinion on the search. If he said it once, he said it a thousand times. "I'm patient when it counts, old man. How do you think I got here?" He quipped easily, his brown eyes wandering towards the direction of the strange area they found. "It's just that when it comes to life, there's no time to be patient. I can't have that on me."

"And the saying, haste makes waste?" Brennan riposted, a sly smile on his face as he adjusted his glasses by the bridge. "What then when rushing into a situation would kill instead of save?"

Brown orbs seemed to glaze over for a moment before Kaiser's body tensed for an instant. "I'll get back to you on that. We have..."

Not a moment later a blade blurred into existence, making a beeline straight towards Brennan's neck. A black blade tore through cloth before meeting crimson scale mail with a resounding clang, Kaiser's eyes not needed to turn and meet his attacker before his arm was before both him and his companion, holding back the unknown assailant. Helpless in the air, their attacker didn't have time to put up a decent defense as Kaiser turned around, a fierce kick at the ready.

A kick that only met empty air as Kaiser found their mysterious assailant had disappeared without a trace.

Brown eyes narrowed as he continued turning, unfazed by the lack of an opponent. He had an inkling as to what would be happening, and if the spars they had were of any indication Brennan could take a hit anyway, so he forced as much aura into his hands in preparation for the technique he planned to fire at his younger companion. He couldn't help but grin when he spied the back of their opponent, hilariously unguarded just as he threw a blow at Brennan. As much as he trusted the teenager to take care of it, he would never live it down if Kaiser couldn't take on a silly... little... child?

_Wait, what?_ Kaiser thought, immensely confused to realize their attacker was just a child. Confusion that seemed to do nothing to stop the attack from firing from his hands.

The attack itself was not the firing of a projectile, exactly, but the turning of air into a weapon to be used. Palms were thrust forward, an act of reflex if anything else, at a speed already surpassing most human limits and only increasing further when his Aura flowed through his hands as a torrent of power. The air itself was compressed before them before it expanded explosively, the resulting shockwave powerful enough to be a lethal threat if focused.

Kaiser himself never dealt blows meant to kill, and so the air simply blew the child into his companion.

Brennan responded to the influx of force by fluidly maneuvering under the child as he sped past, using the force of the blast and flowing with it just as he pushed the boy back with his own materialized weapon. the younger boy was at his side in a blur of movement, his simple blade at his side but ready to strike at anyone who venture too close while Kaiser tore the ruined sleeves off his arms.

He was never a fan of fighting people, preferring to end those quickly, but seeing their child enemy somersault twice before landing perfectly on his feet told him the fight had just begun.

"It's been a while," The boy said icily, glaring at Brennan with eyes that flickered between bright gold and hellish crimson, as an even taller being enshrouded in white appearing beside him.

The next words they spoke in unison, the white hood falling away to reveal an immaculate mask in the likeness of a demon while the sclera of the boy's eyes turned black as darkness.

"**Tensa Zangestu**."

* * *

**AN**

**Hey guys, sorry for the two day delay, I just couldn't really decide how to end the chapter. The fight following(maybe ;P) would be too long so I just decided to split it for now and see where the story goes from there. I think it would be prudent to say that the next chapter should be the end of the current Broken Arc, yeah, not the best of names but I think it will do for now. **

**So the talk with Aki, well it just seemed to fit after everything. Ichigo needs a reason to be as broken as he is(yeah possible FSN crossover when I finish this) and so I just tried to put it together. Aki, Masaki, or Summer, it doesn't matter, it just seems so right that they would all want to be protectors. Our, or my, favorite Quincy only saved Isshin and more than likely agreed to marry Ryuken because she wanted to protect something, either Ryuken himself, the Quincy race as a whole and just a Shinigami in danger.**

**Summer, well that's a head-canon of mine so I'll roll with it. Please don't judge.**

**The fights with Hollow, yeah it seemed like a good idea. There is just so much potential in them, even if we restrain the common hollow moves to the Cero, Bala, Sonido and Pesquisa. they are all instinctual, sure but some guys even managed to form variations, which means that, surprise, they can be learned to some degree. So that inspired Ichigo vs Hollow, if only to teach Berry-kun how to use powers arguably worse than the Creatures of Grimm, who I still need to develop origin and back story for according to Bleach-verse. **

**Narius, anyone know what he is yet? No, well then I still have one plot point hidden in plain sight. How about Kaiser? No? Yay!**

**Reviews, Seriously guys thanks :)**

**Kragh50, Fraiku: Thanks guys, really means a lot to me that people like this stuff. I'll try better next time! :)**

**Kyranol1: Hope that was enough drama for you :)**

**Guesty: Offscreen of course, I don't think i can do the smiling terror justice. **

**Kyo: Thanks so much and... definitely embarrassing chapter 1 error. Sorry all of you had to see that. I edited it as soon as I saw, and please do not hesitate to show me more of my errors, as long as they are in this format.**

**Everyone: Please continue reading, reviewing, favorting, reviewing, following and reviewing. Yeah, please do leave a review on the way out, it's the only way, aside from PM, I will know what you guys think, what you guys like and what you want me to improve on. I very much appreciate the 35 favorites, and 51 followers. Really humbling considering how many people actually like my stuff. **

**If I could hug every single one of you, I would.**

**For next chapter: a Fight, introducing our first RWBY-verse character (canon, I promise, what I can't promise is the accuracy of the back-story but hey, it's a fanfic!), maybe even the first mission of our little Strawberry!**

**This has been Proccit**

**Bye Bye! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Meeting of Monarchs**

* * *

All was silent as the pairs just stared at each other, each ready with their weapons in case the other would act.

Ichigo was angry, he'd been angry since he'd woken up without his swords beside him. He'd been angry when he trained, something that served as a hindrance when he used some of the more basic binds and barriers but only fueled the most powerful spells he could conjure. Against his Hollow, his anger towards both his swords dulled his blade, but strengthened his arms and quickened his reactions. It pushed him past limits he never knew existed, limits he would test once again. He never did manage to beat Zangestu, neither the Hollow or the Old Man.

It was time to change that trend.

Zangetsu himself was seething with anger, but his mask held back most of his feral rage behind shadowed eyes. In contrast with his wielder, reiatsu poured from him in waves, threatening to paint the very air red with his blood lust, and the old man's blood. Like Ichigo, he had his reasons. For caging him for their entire lives, for limiting his own strength when his only desire was to protect the King, for not even giving them a chance to explain before he went ahead and torn the King's very _soul_ apart in his sleep, for all these he nursed his grudge against the old man.

His anger was greater than Ichigo's and his morals were far less grounded. He didn't care if they had to take out everything in miles to do it, they would beat down the old man until he begs for forgiveness, not stopping until the King's Quincy side was utterly crushed underfoot; just barely alive. With all the energy he managed to gather from whatever beast he hunted in the dead of night, he would do just that.

But more than the anger, he still had to prove himself. A Hollow, the final Vasto Lorde and a plus, no, the last manifestation of the Almighty King of the Quincy, would clash for one last time and finally declare a victor. Zangetsu knew killing the other would be impossible, but this would be the closest to a fair fight they would have, all of their power would be brought to bear for a final showdown.

No more interruptions, no more delays, Zangestu was determined to get his fight, Ichigo could always interrogate the defeated spirit after.

The clearing was perfect, not too crowded and that the same time open enough to let whatever damage they did to the surrounding area dissipate with little or no fanfare.

The lighting was dim, clouds covering the sun overhead but it would do nothing to impede either warrior. The absence of the sun's glare was appreciated, but not inherently required as the old man, even in his younger form, wore tinted glasses and the Hollow never needed perfect vision to battle. The air flowed quietly, the calming breeze but a quiet before the storm that was to come, pulling the limbs of the trees around them into a slow dance. Each could count the leaves as they fell slowly, twisting and gliding along the wind's gentle grasp before they settled motionlessly on the forest floor.

The winds carried sounds of chirping, rustling of the bushes, squeals and cries of small game, a miracle in itself as the Grimm coexisted with the animals in the forest. For all intents and purposes, everything seemed to be alive in some form or measure as movement, sound and light existed all around them. It was a shame, they all thought, that almost none would be left after they clashed.

At the back of his mind, Kasier knew that when they fought, the landscape would change before his eyes. A parody of transformation, utter destruction in union with perfect creation would occur, turning the familiar forest into alien terrain. He didn't need to be told that those before him were the ones responsible for whatever blackness that corrupted the area, that they would do the same here.

He took a breath and relaxed his stance, taking three steps to stand in the exact center of the trio and eyeing the two before him with unabashed curiosity. A child and a teenager stood before him with heightened suspicion, both even younger than his companion, yet both obviously just as powerful if not even more so. The elder was more menacing, he would admit that much, rather than the mask he wore, he feared more the coat that hung on his shoulders. it was torn, battered and yet only the tips of the cloth showed any signs of true wear. The rest of it flowed around him like water, white as snow.

If he didn't know any better, he would assume that it was a second skin, the only thing separating the coat and the being's own alabaster complexion was the fact that his coat seemed to glow with power. Not exactly a second skin, the layer of fabric was immaculate and alive, it's radiance ever shifting and never once stilled even as the breeze ebbed and blew, much like his companions own shadowed cloak.

The child was strange, but more in an alien way, dressed in armor that seemed too outlandish and formfitting to even be of use in real combat. White bone like plates with just as hint of jaundice were not as frightening as they would be if they were worn by a true warrior and not some... kid. Frankly it looked like a costume on the boy, but then again that was an advantage at the end of it all.

If no one knew the kid could hit as hard as he did, if he saw it was a child waving around the knife instead of an assassin, he would have adjusted the strength of his block...

...and have his head loped of for his trouble.

Still it was the child who garnered his curiosity for one simple reason.

Zangetsu didn't react when Kaiser stepped forth, content to let Ichigo handle the situation. The boy himself seemed just confused when the brown haired stranger he attacked raised his hand to point a finger at him. Normally he would feel insulted, but with the weird look the stranger was giving him he couldn't help but be a little bit curious. "Who brought the strawberry in the skeleton costume?"

The reaction was instantaneous.

The child was in the air, sword ready to strike down Kaiser, even before anyone could gasp at such a strange comment. "It means..." His words died in his mouth just as he pulled back from his attack, the flat of the falchion meeting the gauntlet of the brown haired Huntsman. Calm amber met delighted brown in confusion an instant before the child realized the weakness of fighting with a weapon.

It would always be a split second slower than a limb in terms of close combat.

To his credit, Ichigo didn't make a sound when an armored leg slammed into his... nether regions. He did fall like a rock though, no matter how much strength he had, the pain was overriding his higher functions. The blow must have had some measure of power though, as both his companion and the white being visibly winced at the blow, only to stare wide eyed at the boy unconscious on the ground.

"I'm assuming it's too late to say we don't fight fair?" Observers would make the mistake of calling his tone relaxed and overly casual if they did not see him easing back into a more stable stance. "I wouldn't blame you if you backed out though. Boy, you must be so scared, you're as pale as a ghost!"

The insult landed as well as it should have, the monochrome spirit vanishing abruptly before rematerializng right in front of Kaiser with a fist cocked back and the smile that showed just how far off the deep end he fell. Kaiser could practically see the air part before the fist as it rocketed towards his chest in slow motion as he pumped Aura into his legs if only too keep him from being pushed back.

The punch was something else, a force of nature in its own right, a harbinger of force that even he could not hope to overwhelm; that was if overwhelming it was something he aimed to do. The blow landed, but in the open palm of his hand, just as he raised his arms in defense. With as much strength as he could muster, he pushed, not against the blow itself but outward, changing the direction of the force by just a few degrees. In the end it was all he needed to ensure that most of the damage was diverted away.

With his elbow perfectly horizontal he pushed with his right hand, directing the fist away to the side of his body as his left had was thrust forth. His left foot followed suit, just in time to take advantage of the borrowed momentum and force the monochrome spirit in range of his fist. The power was nothing he had ever felt before, something beyond him, but it was far from uncontrollable; faster than his opponent could react, the blow was nullified, an opening was made, and he had already capitalized on it.

With all it's speed, Kaiser's blow barely grazed his opponents cheek as the white spirit turned with the punch the instant it connected. His armored knuckles didn't even bruise white skin as his opponent moves his back foot forward, crossing his legs before twisting sharply as his arm followed his torso. His elbow would have ploughed through Kaiser's ribs, shattering bone and crushing muscle if he did not take a step back. He felt the air rush past, the tip of the Hollow's elbow as sharp as a spike slicing through the space he had been as his eyes met black and gold in challenge.

His opponent did not disappoint.

Kaiser flew into a right hook, bringing all of his weight forward into the blow even as his opponent countered with the exact same move. Time slowed as their movements almost looked choreographed, two fighters about to strike the other at the exact same time, the only form of indication that something was amiss was the look in Kaiser's brown eyes.

They mirrored the same look of sadistic glee in gold and black as his arm slowed and slithered away from the monochrome being's chin and towards the fast approaching forearm. With practiced ease, he griped his opponents writs with the strength of a vice as he pulled back. Using the momentum of his opponents blow, he hoisted the being on his shoulder before slamming him into the ground, spine first.

He found the air soon after, his fist poised to hammer down on the foe below him...

"**Bala**"

... If not for the sphere of energy that met his chest, sending him crashing down ungracefully. He was on his feet in an instant... too late, finding only the tip of a giant kyber blade at his neck. He looked up to see his opponent smiling down on him, the image of a conqueror looking down on those he subjugated. It was the look of a child wondering how long it would take to break his new toy.

"**As much as I respect the way you took down the King.**" Kaiser could only scratch the back of his head at the strange compliment, a strange sight as he was still crouching for fear of his opponent's blade. He had dealt with madmen before, but this was a little less... familiar. He had always found himself running when faced with what his enemy was. "**My shit is with the old man, so...**"

He swung his sword, or perhaps it would be more apt to say he _sheathed_ his sword, returning it to his back, when the tree closest to his back was reduced to splinters. Such an action turned the very air into a blade, something Kaiser himself was capable of, but not without the air of Aura. He saw nothing of the movement, no strange feeling of otherworldly energy, no expenditure of the Soul, not even any killing intent when the offhanded gesture caused such destruction. He tried not to gape when he was once again reminded of what his opponent could do, with just a casual flick of his wrists.

He would have been afraid if he wasn't aware of the situation.

"Cool down, Whitey, I'm not here to stop your grudge match with the old man." Kaiser stood to his full height before flashing a smile that looked strangely out of place considering the situation. "I just want to make sure our little Strawberry gets out of the way before you two start turning the world flat. You're welcome by the way, this little bastard would just go another rampage if I left him awake."

"**Always a prissy one.**" Zangetsu shook his head but only agreement could he heard in his voice. He couldn't help but appraise the Huntsman, more carefully this time, before his characteristic grin began tugging on his lips. His laugh echoed with the mask still in place, and as haunting as the godforsaken sound was, it was far less oppressive and ominous. If anything, it was as close to light as it could get.

It wasn't just another chuckle either, but full blown laughter that required him to take out his sword and plant it on the ground just so he could use it to steady himself. Kaiser didn't really know how to react when even that didn't work and the Hollow fell on his knees, teary eyed and out of breath, yet still shaking with foreign mirth, laughing at some sick joke only his convoluted sadistic mind could understand. He doubled over, falling to his hands as he gasped for breath, before only his ragged breaths echoed throughout the clearing.

"**Damn, I didn't think you would survive that! You look like you could give me a warm up this time**" Zangetsu charged forward with burst of speed, his blade flying into his hands from the ground before he brought black steel down. An explosion of dust. The shockwave uprooted trees and broke the ground beneath them as the pebbles themselves lashed out with the force of bullets.

A wave of reiastu cleared the air, and the Hollow glared at the young man who held back his black blade. "Now is not the time for this, Hollow. Leave Kaiser out of this."

The Hollow clicked his tongue in contempt. "**Kaiser, a strong name for you.**" He acknowledged before pushing harder on his khyber, only to meet the same level of strength from his opponent's much smaller trench knife. "**You have a lot of shit to answer for.**" He growled, yellow eyes flashing crimson for a moment as Brennan's grip began to tremble beneath unholy strength.

"And I will answer for them. I will take everything you can throw at me." He replied calmly, just as shining blue glowed in his veins, his grip steadying once more before the Hollow's white, whiter, knuckled grip. "But not here, not where bystanders like him could be caught in the cross fire, not while Ichigo is still unconscious. So you will stop..."

In an instant, the Hollow was yanked into the air by an invisible force but practiced eyes could see through the illusions. The Quincy's strings were much thinner than his own ribbons, the former being almost invisible and only perceivable against the light while his own always glowed with his power's hellion glow. The gap in power was there was well, as his Spirit Ribbons were an extension of his soul as a Hollow, only limited to binding and consuming anything caught in his grasp. In contrast, the Quincy could do both and much more. Destruction, severing, hell, even healing was not beyond the old King.

There was one thing the Old King, in his great wisdom, failed to take into account. "Interesting, so you did manage to learn it." Brennan commented, equally awed and unnerved as his power leaving him.

The Hollow learned.

Kaiser, being the only bystander, was the only one who bore witness to the epic tug of war being held before him. The Hollow did not struggle against his bindings, but the strings glowed with equal parts crimson and azure, each battling to consume the other in a battle for supremacy. There was no effect of the surrounding save the crackling of ominous light against the soft glow of comforting radiance but even Kaiser could feel the slow and steady drain on his own reserves as time past moment by moment. He knew the child to be a juggernaut of energy, but for someone like himself, watching was draining in itself.

He needed to get out of there before they killed him.

"Nothing to worry about." A voice spoke reassuringly from behind him as he turned to face a young man, probably even younger than Brennan, carrying Ichigo in his arms. "As much as they hate each other, they wouldn't go all out in a place like this. At least they wouldn't try anything too... drastic if they knew I wouldn't be here to deal with damage control." He sighed, smiling at the Huntsman.

Kasier could only gape for a moment before he screamed in exasperation. "ANOTHER ONE!" Narius could only quirk an eyebrow evenly as the Huntsman began talking to himself. "No wonder the kid's been so complicated. I thought they were all crazy enough with just ONE thing living inside them, then okay sure he had a second one. He was crazy, but then that's somewhat acceptable, but three? Why in hell does he have three things inside him? One is an unknown, the second is the biggest damn middle finger to peace after death itself and the last is a crazy genocidal deity worshiped by crazy soul killing assholes who..." He begun mumbling incoherently as Narius looked on curiously. All he could catch was "glasses" and "dresses".

He cleared his throat, audibly after cutting at the air, the strings falling away as they were severed and the oppressive powers fighting stilled as both Hollow and Quincy stared at the unknown. "Now that I have your attention, I suggest we all find somewhere... more appropriate to have a discussion. I don't think that keeping Aki waiting is the best of ideas."

"Aki?" Brennan could only inquire with a hint of confusion. Surprisingly, it was Zangetsu that answered.

"**Yeah, the King's mother we've been traveling with. It's a long sob story, but apparently she's the real thing, or at least that what the King would believe.**" He couldn't help huff in disagreement but that was that. "**No, before you ask, we can't really tell if she's the real deal, but she as long as she makes the King happy, we can deal with it.**"

"It just seems strange, for one to even retain memories after such a long cycle." Brennan shook his head in thought, intelligent blue eyes hiding behind black shadow. "I thought that the blade would at least purify us of any memories, thus denying any resistance. If she has any memories to speak of then that simply means she is not who she claims she is."

"But that's only if she died by a Shinigami's blade." Narius interjected, diffusing an argument before it could even escalate into that territory. "As far as we are concerned, none of them are here and any signs of the afterlife is gone. For all we know, the final act either destroyed all but one dimension, this one, or fused them all together. The garganta can't access Hueco Mundo anymore at least."

"Silbern is rubble as well, but the Schatten Bereich is a dimension of my own making." Brennan continued, bitter agreement in his tone. "The rest of them seem to... evade me. I can't sense any of my children, but at the same time, I can't shake of the sinking feeling that some of them may have survived the final battle. That would pose several problems in the future, if they grew powerful enough."

"Yes, it would." Narius seemed more nervous as time passed, something that failed to escape the notice of everyone by the unconscious boy. "Anyway, plans for the future must be discussed at a later date. I have to insist that it is of the utmost importance that we return. I really, really, _really,_ don't want to be on the business end of one of her lectures again."

"That bad?" Kaiser and Brennan could only ask in unison as the hollow blanched, becoming even paler than usual after he removed his mask.

"This is Ichigo's mother were talking about. She was the light of their lives before she went away, just think of how much that light could turn ugly if she ever got remotely angry. A few days ago, she was ready to march to a White Fang Base and tear it apart after they tried to get to Ichigo through her." Narius said in perfect deadpan as Kaiser's eyes widened. "The only reason it's still standing is because Zangestu beat her to it."

"She would charge an entire base for Ichigo? That's to be expected, but isn't such an act suicide? White, you're speaking as if she really could bring the whole base down." Brennan's reaction was hidden behind dark lenses. "I sense nothing from here, as such there should be nothing to fear." His voice was resolute in the beginning, but when he saw the haunted desperate look of his other half...

Not even he could hide the shiver the racked through his spine. Nothing should have been able to make the _Hollow_ of all things bear that expression. Much less a human woman.

Right?

"Your funeral, old man. If you want to face down the one who bore the Hero of the Winter War and the Heir to the Throne, then be my guest."

Brennan and Kaiser walked with them, through they trailed at the very end of the group with all their wits about them.

Better safe than sorry after all.

* * *

"Aki, no last name." The woman offered her hand with a smile as the two found themselves alone. "Huntress, though I don't think you would find my name on any records out there."

"Just Kaiser then." He grasped the hand lightly, with enough pressure that her station as a fellow warrior and a woman afforded, before taking his seat behind his desk. "Self-trained I would have to admit. I would have wanted some formal training but there was barely any time to travel around the main kingdoms as it was. Still, I'm alive and we've reached my hometown relatively unharmed so I think I haven't been neglecting my duties as the safeguard of this particular area." They way he smirked was telling, not of arrogance or superiority but of strange contentedness more suited for a beaming smile.

Aki, on the other hand, fought the urge to roll her eyes at the statement. Not neglecting his duties indeed, when they were in range of the village he called home, she almost staggered in surprise as soon as she felt the palpable pressure that permeated the air even as far as two kilometers from the town borders. She couldn't see the actual defensive measures, but she knew they ran on the aura of one of the individuals traveling behind them. To support such an extensive barrier complex from within the town itself, much less from a distance so far away, must have been taxing to the extreme.

And to think neither of them looked the least bit winded after fighting off Zangetsu and Ichigo. "That would be an understatement, Kaiser, though that isn't why I'm here while my son tries to kill your companion." Her tone was almost wistful, when she spoke. She knew it was hopeless convincing her son otherwise, they always seemed to think violence was the answer, even to personal problems.

Kaiser easily picked up on her apprehension. "I assure you, Miss Aki, they will return relatively unharmed from this... excursion. I'm sure Zangetsu and Narius would never think of hurting your son." He explained, though the way he reached for a glass and poured himself a drink caused her to raise a noble eyebrow. "Please make no mistake, I will still have to deal with kicking him... there."

"Just, Aki, please." She corrected him almost shyly, but her smile was just as bright as ever. "Then again, that was your own fault Kaiser. I will forgive on account that he did strike first and you did not go in for the kill, but I doubt my son will be as understanding. Calling him strawberry was just the last nail in your coffin, he never liked anyone calling him that." _Except for me_ She left unsaid, smiling.

On Kaiser's side, a shiver slowly crept up his spine, before he suddenly stared looking for answers at the bottom of the glass. "It was the only surefire way to get his attention, I regret nothing." He replied with an easy shrug and another shot. "Though jokes and banter aside, I have to ask. What is the purpose of this conversation?" He rested his chin on folded hands as he waited for an answer.

For once, golden eyes stared back at brown resolutely before a sad sigh escaped her lips. "I need you to do something for me."

"And that would be?"

"Please train Ichigo."

There was a pregnant silence, the tension in the room growing to a level that it was almost too thick to move through.

On one hand Kasier could see how it was. The desperation, the helplessness in her eyes was telling in itself, coupled with the strange anger and grief, it was no surprise that he conjectured that he was the most reliable teacher here. With her losing her memories, at least those she could relay verbally since her experienced first hand how her muscle memory was still intact, it was only fitting that a true Huntsman would be trusted with the training of her son. Brennan, as knowledgeable as he was, still researched things after he did, and he had enough information on the Grimm and Aura to pass the final exam.

Sure he was not up to par against the three, it was four now, monsters, but at the end of the day, that was just one of the may factors that made a Huntsman. All the pieces fit this time, and that was all well and good, but it still didn't explain why she was so nervous about asking him that small favor. Really, if anything, he was nervous that he kicked the crotch of Hero of the Winter War.

Now he had to deal with the monster's mother. He should have been the one scared so shitless that he needed to be drunk just to talk.

Honestly, the only reason he was even close to sober was because he knew being drunk would only make a worse impression.

He gave up thinking before nodding somberly. "I'll teach the child everything I know, but I'm not sure why you seem so... hesitant." Kaiser peered into her eyes appraisingly, looking for any and every tell he could identify on the face of the forgotten Huntress. Her stone face was something like a captain's but there was one thing in her eyes he could never mistake for anything else.

"This has something to do with why you can't be here while I train him, doesn't it?" Kaiser couldn't help but bury his face in his hands after she gave him a stiff nod.

"As you know, I am very... ignorant of the current situation, form what's happening to my son to the matters of Huntsmen and Huntresses. I have skills, and some fragments of information but then after all of that, I'm just as helpless as he is." Aki admitted shamefully, her golden eyes downcast towards the folded hands resting on her lap. "I'll be of help for a while, but before long, he'll have to go ahead of me, all of you will have to at some point, and I can't have that. I can't stay behind while my son goes forth and fights the darkness of the world, not with all the scars he had, not when I can still fight."

Brown met unrelenting gold with awe. "So I'll go ahead for awhile and regain everything I lost." There was sadness in her tone, familiarity and weary acceptance. "I'll have to go away for some time."

It was a feeling Kaiser was well acquainted with, being one of the one escapees in the prison he was held in, every single one of his friends, his family he had to leave behind just because they would have all died if he didn't. He hated himself, he hated everything, he hated life and death until such a point that he decided that the only penance that could cleanse him was one of stillness.

From that day, he ceased all movement, a slow and painful suicide where he would minimize his breathing, and stop trying to live altogether. For someone like him, even back then when he was young, it would take time for him to join those he lived with, those brothers and sisters he had left to die when all he wanted to do was die with them. he stayed that way, for how long, he didn't know, slowly dying, slowly letting his life pass before him in the stillness of each moment, until one day, he took a breath.

One day, he stood and looked up at the sky and saw beauty.

One day, he surveyed the area and saw life, life that was stolen from his brothers and sisters, life that was denied his family, life that he had no right wasting.

From that day, he valued all life, and henceforth he had lived.

The woman before him felt the same, that this was the only way she would ever be able to join her son and stay by his side.

For one such as he, what right did he have to hold her back?

"I'm not going to try and stop you." Kaiser finally managed, though the uncertainty remained. "I would say it is only right for a mother to desire nothing more than to protect her only son, but what of the boy? As much as I wan't to help you, I don't think this arrangement would work if he would see me as the one who let you leave him again. You heard the stories, those who he blames are all dead."

She smiled, finding it strange that a trained Huntsman would fear her son so while she tried to remember what exactly he spoke of. A would-be God and and Immortal King supposedly fell before her son, but titles spoke nothing but exaggeration and pride... at least that was what she thought before watching him in what he called a spar. To call it an all out war was a gross understatement in itself.

At that point, she concluded it would be stranger if he wasn't afraid of her son's wrath...

Wait.

He was afraid and that only meant... "You know him?" The accusation, was not an accusation more than it was a statement of fact. What she saw was what she saw, what could only be described as impossible, and yet here was a man who knew what she was talking about. He was accompanied by one of her son's... weapons, to be sure, but even that wouldn't inspire the belief and fear Kaiser had.

That and for some reason, he knew that calling Ichigo, 'strawberry' would irk him.

"Once, before all this happened." Kaiser admitted with a good amount of spite in his voice. The bright smile on his face and the fond twinkle in his eyes betrayed his true feelings. "We weren't the best for friends, let me be the first to say that, and more often than not, I was the one causing as much trouble for him as I could despite being older. It was fun, and it hurt... a lot..."

Even as he lamented his pain with mumbled curses, said to protect her own ears, the bond of brotherhood was there. She didn't know if he could see it, or if he even recognized it but there was the love of an elder sibling in his expression, in his exasperation. It was one of the reasons she couldn't move herself to be angry with him, even after kicking Ichigo... in that particular place. When he first came and explained the situation, as somber and dour as it was, in her eyes, it was simply a sibling's quarrel. No matter how much they painted it as a death match, it looked like plain roughhousing to her.

The next words he said just confirmed her suspicion. "... even after that bast-Ichigo almost killed me for about the sixteenth time, we could still always count on each other. I don't know how it happened, probably it was our little bond with nee-san that started it all, but it was there before we knew it. No matter how much trouble I caused, no matter how many times he looked like he was trying to kill me, we both knew that there was no way we would ever be on other ends of the battlefield." His eyes glazed over at memories long past, requiring him to take another sip of his drink before continuing.

"Literally speaking, we have only spoke seriously once." there was almost regret in his voice when he admitted his folly. "I think it was the last thing we spoke about for a really long times, and it wasn't even about any of us. We talked about how we would make sure that no one else was hurt when the shit finally hit the fan. I didn't want to have anything to do with the coming apocalypse but he wouldn't shut up when he said it. He made me look him in the eyes, standing tall as equals, and promise him that I would do every single fucking thing in my power to make sure no one died on my watch."

"We're both protectors, though he's a realist when I'm and idealist. He knows that no matter what it's impossible to protect everything and everyone, while I still try no matter what happens. We're both so much alike, and I can see why you want me to take over." Brown orbs filled with unshed tears gleamed with pleading as they faced bright gold. "I know I said I wouldn't, so I'm sorry, but it just isn't fair to him anymore. He's been through _so much **SHIT **_that it's not even funny anymore. But now he has a chance, now he has me, and those guys to help. Now he has you to lean on."

Sorrow, understanding, even begrudging respect fell away as the icy glint of pure resolve reflected the dim light of the overhead lamp. "And I'll walk right down to Hell if I'm the one that takes you away from him." Arctic brown met hard gold in silence, two hunters looking for an opening in the other, both fighting for something apart from themselves.

It did not escape either of them, the fact that their argument stemmed from the same orange-haired child they both tried to protect.

"Are you implying that I want to hurt my own son?" She asked without emotion, perfect deadpan that was neither arrogant or condescending. It was even colder than a blizzard, devoid of any warmth.

"No, I know that you want to help him... and that your cursing yourself that you can't." He chose his words carefully. She could not grasp many things after death, but the way she sat told him everything he needed to know. If he wasn't careful, she could take her own glass, still filled with whiskey, smash onto the table and slit his neck in the time it took for him to empty his own.

He still sat before a trained Huntress, even if all she retained was the combat ability. If anything, that only made her more dangerous. "But we can take care of his education, and yours if you wish, because at this moment in time, it's paramount that he doesn't fall into despair again."

"As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he'll always need you more."

* * *

Ichigo was angry.

No that's an understatement. If normal angry could be described as a match that was just lit, a bright fire that would slowly smolder to nothingness, not even the sun could compare to the sheer level of rage Ichigo was feeling at that moment. If he had any less self control than the enlightened one himself, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if he was to level the area for miles on end in an explosion of uncontrollable rage that had been seething inside of him ever since he lost his mother the first time. At that point, the only thing stopping him was the amount of collateral damage it would entail.

The prospect of unlimited destruction did nothing to lessen his anger in anyway, though. He was still very, very, _very,_ angry.

He had every reason to be.

What happened in the past notwithstanding, he woke up abandoned where there were monsters he had no idea about trying to kill his mother. Of course, they made for great stress relief, if he didn't discover a few moments later that they could have succeeded before Fate, being the big prick that it was, decided it was a good time to have him faint. Later, he wakes up, and sure she's alive, but she remembers nothing at all, NOTHING. AT. ALL. That was more than enough to have him despairing, and as much as her love was still his, it didn't help much in the long run.

Training with Kido was a welcome escape, no matter how much he hated the style, it was better than wallowing in despair while he thought about it. That could also curb his anger so much when he found out that not only was _another_ spirit inside of him, which inevitably meant that yes, he still had more strength he could have used to end the whole debacle he was in, but the _other two_ he was already familiar with left him behind. Not in the fact that he was powerless again, no he retained a great deal of his previous power when he looked at it, but they were _gone._

The connection between them, he could barely feel, which meant that they actually _knew_ he would be pissed and so they took appropriate precautions. They didn't just leave him, in the end they left him alone in a world he had no knowledge of, and they intended for it to stay that way. If that wasn't enough ammunition against them, the moment he finds his Hollow, something tries to shoot his head off.

If it was the Hollow, he would have understood. Zangetsu as his instincts and blood lust was, by nature, violent to an insane degree and had no regard for the safety of others, much less his own. In that regard, he would fight to the death, of his enemies, or random bystanders, until he was slain by whatever what was stronger than him at that time. He rarely needed to worry, considering how effective Instant Regeneration had been until now, so no matter how powerful an enemy that did manage to defeat him was, Zangetsu could always come back, stronger, faster, and ready to embrace vengeance.

No, it was not the Hollow, but some random group of strangers who, ironically, the Hollow was messing with for the past few weeks they have been apart. He always knew his Hollow would inevitably serve as his undoing, but not in that way, not by making enemies out of total strangers who would eventually try to kill him and whoever he was with from the shadows.

In the end, that wasn't what inspired his anger. He understood how infuriating his Hollow was, yes it was to the point of murder if his experiences were to be trusted, but they tried to kill him first.

For some strange reason, he was turned into a child the moment he woke in his mother's embrace, and as bad as it was, it wasn't hell. Training was more difficult, and sure his spirits seemed to get a kick out of seeing him as a child, but it wasn't really much in the long run. He understood that and accepted it as soon as he realized that it was the perfect size for his falchion, which was just as good as Zangestu at that point. He wasn't even offended that they tried to kill him from afar, especially when he knew that it was one of the only ways to kill him now that he was as strong as he was.

What did angered him even more was the fact that they tried to kill a child.

He took his anger out of his Hollow, as much of it as he could without leveling the entire forest at least, which wasn't much in the end when Zangetsu drove him to the ground like that child he looked like. As infuriating as the taste of defeat was, losing to an opponent he had been winning against, albeit with a lot of effort, when said opponent did nothing more that smile at him and swing _once_ was worse.

It was so much worse.

Then again with the battle between the Slaying Moon and Cheerful White, where the gap of power was underlined even more. Watching snippets that he caught with fading vision, he couldn't help but think if he had such power, such control before. At that point, seeing the manifestations of his power in their full glory in combat with all flawless control and peerless strength it entailed, there was no other to take the blame but them. How could he think anything else when the Old Man, the one who he thought was Zangetsu had been successfully deceiving him for more than two years?

The fight had long since been over when he demanded training, his newest spirit being more apprehensive when his Hollow jumped at the opportunity to 'beat the King senseless' when 'the bastard asked for it.' Of course it was murder, the Hollow did not hold back, even against the child, but he could feel the results. He had this type for training for three months, and soon after he could kill God.

He trembled at the thought of the power he would gain after a year, or ten, training the way he did.

He respected the thought of power, though he did not crave it like others did. He understood that it was a fickle commodity, easily lost and gained only through blood, sweat, and tears, more often than not of others sacrificed for the vain pursuit of strength. Without purpose, he knew he was dangerous; a monster who could take Gods and bring them low, but as a protector, he would be enough.

Then the past decided to repeat itself before him.

It wasn't enough that the group tried to kill him, a little boy, but the tried to kill his mother soon after.

He was out training, and she was sleeping peacefully back at camp when it happened.

Some random bastard tried to kill his mother, in her sleep.

It took all the self control he had, and his spirits siphoning every shred of spare energy he had to keep him from obliterating the insolent cur where he crawled.

If he hadn't just finished training, with fatigue wearing down on him, he would have succeeded in what would be his third murder.

If one included the slights and sufferings he suffered in the past, then out of every man woman and child out in the world, he had every right to be as angry as he was. For everything fate has done to him in the era long past, he had ever right to use all the powers he had gained to make sure that fate would no longer toy with him as it did. He would have very right to take what he wanted, to kill if need be, to finally explode if only to let everything out.

But he didn't, for he knew better.

He would endure like he always did.

But then even he had his limits.

That true limit of his anger was reached when he confronted the old man and his annoying companion.

"I'm going to kill him!" The little boy roared, reiatsu flaring in all directions as hard gold lashed out in the form of savage tendrils, consuming everything in their path. More of the surroundings area would have been destroyed if ominous crimson and comforting emerald did wrestle against the hard murderous gold. Narius and Zangetsu were beside him, each holding down the child as he loosed a roar.

"I'll show that bastard who's the strawberry! How does he like it when he gets kicked in the balls?" Apparently what forced him to blow his top off was the... underhanded blow dealt by Kaiser.

"Ichigo, please calm down..." The Quincy attempted to appease the child, but he would have none of it.

"Hell no! I've had enough of all of you!" Ichigo roared in defiance, renewing his struggle with hardened resolve as he continued to vent. "You left me, you all left me after that night! That smiling bastard hasn't been telling me shit for the longest time and the Hollow is even worse than before now that you've held back a bit less. Yeah, and you guys are still holding back in a fight even when everything went to hell before. What will it take for you guys to finally trust me with everything? Another apocalypse? The utter destruction of reality itself? When I'm finally on my deathbed? Tell me, damn it!"

All was still as the boy dragged heavy breaths in and out of his lungs. He was angry, but more than that, he was tired. He was far more tired than any living being ought to be. His eyes, once bright amber were losing light as he sighed, and pulled away from the hands restraining him with a show of little force. He had no time to wonder why they released him so easily as he sat down, casting his badge aside. The tears would not fall even as he looked at the ground with helplessness. "I'm tired of it, Zangestu. I'm tired of the riddles, of the lies. Just tell me why?"

"You were uncontrollable." Blue met brown in sorrow as the child looked up, only to see the Quincy King without his tinted lenses in the form he used when he was at his strongest. The Chain knelt down to look at the child before he too bowed low. "Not with anger, but you were drunk on despair. The monsters, the creatures of Grimm held no hope against you, and your mother, even less so. If I had not left her a measure of my own strength, she would have gone with the wind."

Ichigo watched with wide eyes as glowing thread wrapped around Zangetsu, and Narius, all originating from the teenager who bowed before him, as the thread slowly squeezed. It extended outwards endlessly before constricting the two spirits, Narius' smile disappearing even before his face was obscured while Zangestu sent a final warning glare at the Quincy before he too was utterly consumed. Immaculate cocoons were light ablaze by light azure before all three spirits disappeared from his sight, but not before Tensa's final cryptic remark. "I would bear your anger, Ichigo, if you but let me."

For a moment, he felt peace.

He did not need ask where they went, he could feel their power within him again like a long lost friend he embraced after such a time apart.

Where his companions once stood, three objects lay as if waiting for him to pick them up, as if knowing he would be there to receive them when he did. The massive cleaver stood upright almost mockingly, further bringing home the fact that it would be a few more years before Ichigo could ever be able to wield him properly. It was just like his Hollow to behave that way, even after they reached an accord as partners. The Quincy form sat almost quietly, with the entirety of its form on the ground as if someone lay it there to present it to him. It almost looked prostrate before him in apology.

What he did not expect was the form Narius supposedly took, his Fullbring's place being taken up by a garment much too large for him but neatly folded all the same. He could easily recognize the standard shihakushō folded, but the strange shoulder plates along with the cross strap her wore was also present. The haori he would wrap along his waist lay beside his uniform as well, though much longer than he remembered. This was the armor he received from the royal guard, something that was not part of his soul but a simple garment he could wear and remove with time.

His spirits could still find more and more ways to surprise him it seemed.

Though that wasn't the end of it.

The moment of peace past, and what was once anger, transformed into tranquility, again shifted...

"What the hell?"

...into terror.

Time seemed to slow as the ground beneath him dissipated, as if it had the consistency of smoke against a slow summer breeze. He could only watch as stone by stone, the very earth below him continued vanishing, having not the strength to even remain whole in the face of such terrible power. It almost looked like a puzzle unraveling itself as matter disintegrated all around him, from the leaves that drifted close enough to the very air around him growing thin until there seemed to be nothing left to even breathe. He managed to regain his bearings before the destruction could spread far...

"Damn it, stop already!"

He reigned in as much strength as he could, using all he had learned in terms of control to halt the destruction that surrounded him, but it was for naught. In the end, he could only slow the progress of the invisible wave that consumed all things around him, leaving not the black that he had before but only void in its wake. He could not take it any longer and leaped to the sky, hoping that it would end.

But it didn't.

The sky was empty, not a cloud in sight and perfectly blue, but in the end there was something there.

Air.

It was disappearing as well, no matter how hard he tried, it was slipping from his grasp like his powers did. The platform of reishi that he stood on was his own, and so safe from the slow and steady destruction, but the air itself was not. His eyes began to tear when he realized that his lungs took nothing in, the gasses around him being destroyed even before it was close enough to even _breathe._

His eyes were wet but even as tears began falling they evaporated before they left the touch of his skin. Sweat suffered the same fate, being eradicated even before it could even serve it's purpose and cool his rapidly heating form. His breaths were nonexistent, as he couldn't even pant when air could not enter and exit his lungs, the power he so sought destroying him from the inside out.

And so came the worst of it, he knew he would survive.

His powers were vast now, and complete. He could feel his body burn and ache with the influx of power that would not be held by the small mortal form, but he felt an opposing force, something even more powerful try and repair all damage done. Even as his skin, his bones, his very blood began boiling in his veins, there was a dark power that consumed him, healing the damage even faster than the rate it was being caused. His lungs were perfect, even as they ached in a cycle of destruction and restoration. His skin was without flaw, even as it burned away with the very heat his body produced. His blood was evaporating, explosively escaping his body as gas but it was being restored even faster, the ruptures being healed so quickly that the phenomenon was almost undetectable.

He would not die, not because of something like this.

But he would suffer.

His own body would not be destroyed by his strength, but he will feel the pain of every cell in his body dying every single waking moment. He would find no respite as the destruction, slowly but surely spreads in all directions, cursing not just himself to a fate of eternal suffering, but damning the others, those not as strong as he, to utter destruction, his powers as a Quincy saw to that end.

If they were not crushed completely and perfectly, they would be absorbed into himself, further increasing his own strength, and the rate at which the world would end. That wasn't the worst of it yet, not that fact that reserved for the realization that he, and he alone would watch as the world died. He had to remain conscious to restrain the power as much as possible, but that alone would not stop it.

He would be forced to watch the world as it died, for as soon as the stress became too much, as soon as his mind gives up, the power would escape.

The power would flow without restraint and the souls of all he killed, of all he destroyed with be claimed as his. The rate of the destruction would increase exponentially as more of the world was destroyed by his strength and absorbed into his form. The world would end in days, if the song he had heard was accurate, he would have consumed the world in just nine days if he just let his power flow.

He was the end.

"This is why we left you, Ichigo." Tensa appeared as his eyes began fading in and out of consciousness, and all at once, everything seemed to stop again. "You lack control."

Ichigo would have recalled the memory of his third fight with a captain, the moment his reiatsu took the form of a blue Hollow's mask, if he wasn't so gripped by fear. The blue began fading as the Quincy's shadow took away the meaning of time. The destruction was ceased as time flowed ever so slowly, just to allow the vacuum he had created to be filled without the destructive implosion.

Just so the boy could breathe, Tensa carried Ichigo and moved, back where the atmosphere still existed before allowing the boy to stand on his own.

The overwhelming, no, if it was overwhelming then he could handle it. The power he used against the god was overwhelming. The power he gained after he fought with the Royal Guard was overwhelming. His strength, his true strength at least the last time he used it, his full release was overwhelming. This? This was an insult to the very act of existing itself. His mere presence, when he was _trying __to hold himself back _was causing the air to cease being entirely. He was throwing the rules of reality to the wind just by standing there, to the extent that even he could die just by pushing just a bit of power out.

"**So that's why we all had to scatter then...**" Zangetsu acknowledged the Quincy as time began flowing normally again, the Hollow just in time to catch the boy before he truly fell from the heavens. He wore the mask for good reason, the emptiness, still not completely filled was suddenly absent, and the backlash of such an event was harrowing.

The complete opposite of an explosion rocked the sky, a sudden pull where all was compressed into one area where nothing was. The winds howled before suddenly stilling, forced equilibrium only coming after such a violent snap back into normalcy. The rules of reality could be bent, they knew that, but it seemed to be better to break them entirely for they right themselves... without regard for anything caught in the aftermath.

"Can you restore what was lost?" Narius asked almost worriedly as the Quincy shot him a quizzical look. The Fullbring explained further. "The air, it's lost is it not? As much air as we have, losing any of it can't be good. There are just far too many things that could happen. We have to find a way to rest..." He was interrupted by an explosion of air centered on the Quincy, pure air billowing from him.

As powerful as it was, it was not enough to move them, even so, none were quite amused at Tensa's little display of power. Though, only the Hollow was truly disturbed, his hair being as long as it is whipping about annoyingly for a good minute and a half before the winds finally died down. "Tell me, child, what do you know of Reishi, Reryoku and Reiatsu?"

"The first is the particle, what comprises matter in a manner of speaking, the second is the power stored while the third is the power in motion." Narius answered, seeing as Ichigo was still reeling and Zangetsu had no intention of speaking as the 'King' remained silent. It was better that way, as it seemed that only Narius was the only one able to catch his meaning. "They're convertible?"

"In a way, yes." The Quincy replied easily as the warm glow of azure surrounded them, allowing a platform to manifest below them before several swords formed out of thin air. Each was spectral, made from what looked to be reiryoku but at the same time solid. "We can easily shift them from one form to the other when needed. As Quincies, it is one of the most fundamental techniques we must learn." All faded into nothingness without so much as a command as the Quincy sighed tiredly. "I admit that that wasn't the most gentle way to get the message across..."

"**No shit, genius.**" Zangetsu muttered, not exactly in anger but more in irritation. "**Bastard... almost killing the King is supposed to be my job alone." **

"But be that as it may, it was the surest way to make him see." Tensa riposted win perfect deadpan before regarding Ichigo. "You are not yet ready for this power. Given time and control you will be able to fulfill your purpose as a protector, but not yet. This is why we had to leave you for a while, at least until you could reign in whatever power you still possessed apart from us. Which is why we will train."

Zangetsu grunted, but again there was no true venom in it. Narius simply nodded with his smile, though it seemed less forced this time around."It's about damn time." Ichigo smiled weakly, reaching an understanding with his spirits once again. "And no more leaving this time, you hear me? We'll all go together, Horse, Armor, Sword and King. We'll make everything right this time. We will not fail."

"**We're going to have to tell him that we tried to destroy everything on purpose, just to spook him, right?**"

"Don't ruin their moment."

The Lord of Hollows smiled underneath his rows of predatory canines as the King finally took the reins, proud to follow the one being who fate chose to challenge in its hubris to overcome humanity.

The Emperor of Destruction adjusted his shades before facing the sunset, having no doubt that the scene he viewed through his eyes in the real world was exactly the same in the realm of skyscrapers.

The Unknown smiled truly, a true grin of satisfaction in the small moment of peace they all experienced, even if his lidded eyes saw the darkness that was to come.

The King simply walked with purpose, descending back to the world he so wanted to protect. He had nothing more to fear now that he was whole, now that one again. He would become stronger, and with that strength, he would find everything he wanted to protect again. He would fight the darkness that threatened this world and by his sword he would banish it into whatever abyss it came from.

But he had a more important mission. "Tensa, where's that other guy you were with?" Ichigo asked in a completely offhanded manner, no amount of rage lurking in his voice.

"Kaiser? Oh yes, I had forgotten, he should be in town with your mother." Tensa recalled, before appearing before the child in a flash of hirenkyaku. "Also, there I am referred to as Brennan Delacroix here."

"So Cheerful White, and now the Monarch of the Cross. What is with you guys and making up weird names?..." Ichigo commented, shaking his head in confusion, both as to why they named themselves as such as why he knew the meanings of their new aliases. "And how do I even know what they mean? Is it another Quincy thing Tens-Brennan?"

"Something like that..." He abruptly stopped his decent, earning curious looks from all his companions.

"Brennan?" Narius queried before his eyes widened as his smile vanished "Oh my"

"**Oi, what's the hold up you bastard?**" Zangetsu swore before surveying the area. "**Oh, fuck."**

"What's wrong..." Ichigo, despite being at the head of the group, was the last to see what seemed to get his spirit's attention. "Can anyone tell me why we did this anyway?" He mumbled, defeated.

What he was referring too was their slow decent from whatever height they flew to when he ran from the earth. After suffering such a shock, it seemed that all he could to personally was walk down from the heavens as if on a very long staircase. If what Brennan, or Tensa, did was of any indication, Zangetsu and Narius still could achieve highspeed movement, but simply chose to match his pace.

It was a gesture of respect, a sign that they would face their problems together as a single unit.

That relatively slow decent was what led them to their current predicament.

"You guys can fly." A fairly high pitched voice chimed in unadulterated amazement.

A little girl looking at them with large blue eyes, positively glowing with pure wonder as she beheld three beings, a child and three teenagers of varying ages, seemingly walking on air with no aid at all.

"Looks like finding Kaiser will have to wait." Brennan said sagely, ready to disappear into the shadows at a moment's notice.

"Ichigo, how will we explain this to her?" Narius asked, though it was clear he meant the question in all seriousness, unlike a certain Hollow.

"**Oi King, at least your not the only orangette anymore.**" Zangetsu jeered, elbowing Ichigo in the ribs twice as soon as he commented to the girl's hair.

Ichigo simply screamed in frustration.

* * *

**AN**

**HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!**

**Yeah, had to cut it short, seemed to bee too long if I added the explanations and such. **

**Thanks for the guys on the polls, and since you all have spoken, I'm going with my original plan and extending the precanon arc to about 4-7 chapters, just so we can see how our favorite strawberry get's into the hunter businesses. As far as power levels are concerned, I couldn't really find a restraining bolt strong enough to hold him back so his will to protect rather than destroy would have to suffice for now.**

**Whosoever didn't see what Kaiser did coming, well, yeah, that happened because of who he is. Please don't hate him yet, his last name (true identity) would be revealed in the next chapter, as well as what they plan to do about his current mission from a chapter ago. More tension between Aki and the rest of them, being a useless character has to have some effect on the character, and, trust me, if you want to do something for a person you love, much more parent for a child, come hell or high water, nothing will stop them.**

**Thanks for Frai and krag for guessing, close but no cigar, but I'll reveal those things in due time.**

**Again, thanks to everybody for reading, reviewing, adding this story to the favorite lists (yes, it's supposed to be said that way), and following. Really, for the first work, it really means a lot that this thing is gaining more momentum than I thought it would.**

**If you haven't guessed it, next chapter would be about our favorite sloth-loving, orangette.**

**Boop**

**Again, to all who read, HAPPY EASTER, the season of hope, the Resurrection of the Son of God, and bunnies who have the strange capability of laying eggs.**

**This has been Proccit,**

**Bye Bye! :)**

**Yay, the entire gang is finally together, which begins phase two of the precanon: meeting canon characters!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Calm; the Storm is Brewing**

* * *

A light breeze blew between the heavens and the earth as, for but one moment, all was silent.

The leaves still danced, the sun still lit the sky, the clouds still lounged in their lofty heights, but not a sound could be heard as the silent confrontation dragged on. No one could muster the strength to move, or even try to think, not when they were caught in a situation like this. Like it or not, the four towering over the earth, being borne up on the air's shoulders, were warriors of immense strength.

That being said, they would all but flounder when faced with a problem they couldn't bash into submission.

This was one such situation.

In hindsight, it was one they could have easily avoided if only the acted with a little more sensitive with regards to the time. The conundrum lay in the fact that they were truly blindsided by such an occurrence, in truth none of them expected that something this disastrous could happen, and that was saying something, considering the Old Emperor could theoretically 'see' everything and so know everything.

None of them could have ever predicted that the one who would discover them would be a little child...

...with the same orange hair Ichigo had.

The instant crimson, gold, black, and amber met curious blue, time seemed to lose meaning as their minds flew into overdrive. Options were running thin by the second, each being cut down by simple logic.

It would have been so much simpler if it was... say... a member of the White Fang who saw them. At least then, they had the option to knock them out before thinking of a more permanent way to ensure their silence. Worst case scenario would require the child to kill, and with as much thought as he put in battle and how he would absolutely avoid ending a life until it was the only method, he would still be fine with it as long as it ensured their safety. Back then, he was willing to kill for his mother, the only thing that actually hindered him from doing so was the fact that the Seals were till online and he was dead tired.

But this was a child, like he was.

He was used to fighting beings much, much, much, _much older_ than he was. Aside from being in possession of immense power and the will to use it, they always had something he didn't; experience. without exception, they all had the time to think, to really ponder on their actions and the motivation driving them. They had years, decades, centuries, and more recently, millennia, to plan, to ponder, to ensure that they had not a sliver of doubt when they acted, when the _killed._ If he was ever faced with a child with the power to bring ruin to existence, he would defeat them, but spare them all together, simply because there were so many methods to sway a child's mind. There were far too many way to end the conflict without leading to the death of one or the other, no matter how stubborn the child could be.

They, as one being, fought entities with resolve that could rival, or even surpass, their own, and against that only death would prove to be worthy punishment. Discounting the mindless thralls he had massacred through the months he wielded his blade, the truest of Hollows, those who casted their masks aside, were those who were out for blood. They embodied death itself, and had no reservation in spreading destruction until they would reach the King's throne. They needed to be put down, and even as he fought some of the weakest to the mid-ranks among them, he could feel their malice.

They deserved the judgement he raised against them, almost as much as the Monks of Destruction did.

They were beings born from grief, they who hated hollows simply because they did what nature dictated. If was an ironic mirror, that those who fell into despair would be so similar and yet at opposing sides of the battlefield, but that was so. They were human, yes, but they were far gone when they first met. They were the most powerful of their race, and possessed resolve and loyalty for their king that he had to his friends. They wee prepared to die for what they believed in, for who they served, and more than that, they were prepared to kill, to massacre, to obliterate just to achieve their goals.

There was no diplomacy, no words that would convince them that what they were doing was wrong.

They obliterated at least half of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads the first time they struck.

It was only right they were put to the sword themselves.

In hindsight, it was not a total loss, as when their beloved king turned against them, they responded in kind.

But that wasn't the problem here. They were dealing with a child, and that required a touch of gentleness. Something none of them had, in all honesty. One was a child with the mind of a hardened war veteran, a person more used to using everything at his disposal to defeat, not necessarily kill, the enemy before him. He had learned some forms of psychological combat, from one of the most powerful users of the art, he was engaging him in battle at the time, but at this point, none of them were safe enough to use against a child he most definitely did not want to break.

To his left was a perfect liar, a manipulator that had practiced his art for centuries if not millennia but then again, he was more adept at idle manipulation and its subtle intricacies. It was more of use against adults whose minds were not as easily twisted as children's but were far more vulnerable to the grip of cold logic and the fury of reality that came with the maturity of the mind. He was adept at handling those who were less than mentally well to an extent, but that required a more... firm hand and a blade that could not be denied. As desperate as they were, he was not willing to cut down a child for that.

Another with him was one most suited for combat. He was a berserker, a force of nature itself more often than not detached from any rhyme or reason. He lived to fight, and fought to live, a delicate balance that such an unstable individual maintained with the no effort whatsoever. Mercy, defeat, weakness, enough were not concepts that he acknowledged when it came to battle, and even situations that did not involve combat, he would adopt a bloodthirsty mindset. The only thing keeping him from killing the child... was simply because he knew that she would not give him enough of a fight to try.

"Narius!" Ichigo spat with all the fury his little form could muster as the Fullbring did the unthinkable.

The last of them, even with the months they spent together, was an enigma. He had claimed to be Ichigo's humanity, and rightly so considering his power glowed with the golden radiance Ichigo's reiatsu shone with when he was at his most powerful. He had the patience Ichigo lacked, to be true, but the sharp wit and mental agility the boy used unconsciously in every battle, he brought to bear in every situation. He was pragmatic, almost frighteningly so, but he kept his heart about him, never thoughtlessly sacrifice anyone in their little circle, for any reason.

Still, it looked like he retained his ruthlessness, seeing as he vanished in a flash of green before landing a deft strike on the back of the girl's neck. To his credit, he was prepared for the sudden loss of light in her turquoise eyes, and quickly caught her falling form as his hands began shimmering a faint green, the characteristic feel of Kaido spreading across the relatively small area.

The other three found their feet not an instant later, quickly appearing at the child's side, if not to chide their companion in taking such a dangerous action, then to see to her safety.

"Zangetsu." Ignoring the wrathful glare the child gave him, Narius's eyes found the bushes a few meters before them, just as the rest felt a strange tinge in the air.

They were not alone. In that moment, they understood why the Fullbring acted the way he did, taking the lesser of two evils by knocking the child out with a strike to the neck. It was lethal, as a child of a doctor, Ichigo, and so all four of them new how dangerous it was to even take a person's pulse through the neck when carotid sinus reflex could easily cause death, even the death of a child. It was either that, or allow a child to face down a monster, a monster they would no doubt dispose of easily, but in doing so paint themselves as monsters as well.

Ichigo himself knew exactly how the child would react, in the exact same way he did when he saw the purification process the first time around. He was but a child, his mother had just past, when he was confronted by another hollow. He couldn't have know it was weaker than the Grand Fisher, he couldn't have known that it would have been child's play to evade and escape the monster he was faced with, and so he simply stood, frozen in the claws of his own fear.

That was the first time he encountered a Shinigami.

The Hollow was weak, unbelievably so considering a low ranking Shinigami, not even seated if he could remember the feel of his power correctly, but he didn't feel awe or gratitude.

He felt nothing but fear.

The monster was of the same kind that killed his mother, cut from the same cloth as that monster who lured him in and devoured his most precious one when her powers deserted her. This was the monster that blotted out his sun and robbed him of all happiness, and it was dealt with by a man in a black kimono. The gargantuan abomination died after nothing more than a single slash.

Not once did he assume that the Shinigami was there to protect him. He lost all hope that he would live past the encounter, how could he when what killed his mother was in turn dealt with so easily.

He had no doubt that if ever the girl was made to witness something like that, even after hearing stories of Hunters taking care of the Grimm and protecting the people, she would perceive them as something beyond whatever they would slay. They would be made into something to be dreaded in her eyes, and that would make dealing with her, in a nonlethal manner, infinitely more difficult.

He did not have to like it, but knocking her out, the lethal strike could be easily be remedied by Kaido, was the most apt way to deal with the situation.

The Hollow responded in earnest, breaking into a sprint just as the leaves parted to reveal an Ursa. A very, very large Ursa. It was bulkier, taller and more menacing with white plates not only adorning it's visage but protecting its limbs and underbelly. On its back were massive spires of bone, decoration to be sure but they did nothing to hinder it's movement in the least. It's claws were longer, more threatening while the red form its eyes bled out to form strange patterns on its mask, not unlike his own red stripes. It was a picture of a monster, more powerful than any Grimm they had faced.

But it still wasn't enough to make the Hollow yawn.

Even before the beast could open it's jaws to let out a battle cry, Zangetsu's hand was upon it's muzzle, and the red ribbons shot out of his sleeve. The Hollow did not show any mercy, not even waiting to relish the look in the creatures eyes as it was consumed utterly, the fell power that made up the creature absorbed into the Hollow's vast reserves of power. The smile on his face was strange though...

But quickly explained when a familiar power was felt just beyond their position, from the same direction the monster barreled out. It was a power none of them would mistake, not when it had just been a few hours since they last felt it. Immediate, the familiar embrace of inhuman warmth was decimated by pressure fueled by absolute outrage and righteous indignation.

Even Zangetsu had to step away with a burst of sound when Ichigo unconsciously used all _three_ techniques at his disposal to streak towards the unrepentant presence "**KAISER!**"

The _explosion_ was powerful, far more that what any of them were expecting, but even Zangetsu could smile as the explosion of dust billowed past him. The Kaiser was still standing, his arms against the child's smaller falchion while a cocky smirk that could only be described as glowing played on his lips. The child's anger was not to be trifled with, the very pits of hell visible in his eyes...

...before he vanished from sight entirely.

All three came the same realization the moment the strange drone of the enhanced movement reached their ears. At that point, there was, literally only one place the boy would go. They couldn't really determine if it was inherent in the boy's situation, or it was just the strangeness of it all finally breaking him, but for one reason or another, he didn't have such a firm grasp on his emotions as he should have. It could easily be attributed to his own childish nature, as being stuck in such a form altered, not his consciousness per se, but much of his brain which still governs the biological thought process.

Another explanation would be that, in fact, he finally reached his breaking point and was reacting accordingly to what was left of his broken, and again much reduced, psyche. If that were the case, then they were glad that Zangetsu agreed to keep them separated, or they would very much have to contend with a Hollow on the loose, one with no regard for collateral damage and power that could easily bring countries to their knees. Of course, even with his power reduced, his anger made him dangerous... but also extremely predictable to the point of losing much of his combat effectiveness.

It would always be the case that skill would triumph over raw power, as long as the gap between them was not as expansive as the heavens are from the earth.

"Brennan!" As it was, the desperate cry of the Huntsman was perfectly punctual, the threads of reishi latching on to the boy just as he reappeared behind the brown-haired man, not surprisingly, his leg just about to deliver sweet, sweet revenge on the elder combatant. Kaiser could only sigh in relief as his feet returned to the ground, mere centimeters separating the child's foot from his groin.

He didn't need to face Ichigo to feel the all consuming ire that emanated from the boy, threatening to manifest itself and destroy his very soul that very instant. More specifically, he could feel his back burning as eyes bored into him with such intensity that he could actually feel the power, the sheer pressure of his death glare on him. He knew that dealing with the child the way he did was a stretch, a gamble that involved his life and the very real chance that the boy would exact dreadful revenge on him, but it had to be done if only to ensure that the boy would become whole again.

And now he was facing the consequences, fortunately, for not very long now.

"Ichigo?" A voice commanded the attention of all in the clearing, as all eyes landed on the woman who followed the Huntsman soon after, worry and apprehension in her eyes. She was dressed differently, a strange black cloak on her shoulders as a small bag could be seen peaking under her protective garment. To all, it looked like she was stronger as well, her aura glowing a mixture of red, yellow, and blue, almost in the exact manner Ichigo's shone just before it became a mockery of pale silver and deathly obsidian; destroying everything in its wake without regard.

The boy himself dropped his mask as soon as she spoke, golden eyes and dark scleara returning to its original shade of bright amber and innocent white. A myriad of different expressions danced on his countenance, from confusion, to worry, from anger, to sorrow as he gazed longingly at his mother. No words needed to be said between them, and yet he knew what she was planning to do.

"Mom..." His voice was weaker, laced with helplessness and pleading as he took a slow step forward. The bag couldn't have been for anything else, not when she wore a cloak that was obviously made to protect a traveler on her journey. He was smart enough to put the pieces together, to figure out what she planned to do if not the reason behind her plans. His own mind had no mercy for the boy.

_She's leaving you again._

He didn't know why she insisted on meeting with Kaiser soon after, but this just confirmed the worst of his suspicions. She had memories, an impossibly he forgot to account for, and as much as he knew she loved him, it was only natural that there was one part, tucked away at the back of her mind that would demand the knowledge she had lost. As much as he would try to help her, there was only so much he could do, especially as a child with no more knowledge of worth than she does. At one point, it would be inevitable that their paths would stray form each other, and then...

...He knew that he wouldn't be able to do a thing but watch her go.

Again.

Of course, fate had other plans for him, and for once that wasn't such a bad thing.

The mother was not blind, quite the contrary actually, seeing more in her son than he could in her. He was jumping to conclusions, well thought out conclusions, but jumping to them all the same... and was being saddened by it. She knew how she must have looked like, but the cloak just felt right around her shoulders, like a warm embrace of a familiar friend. Still, it wasn't her son's, her eldest's embrace.

A mistake she moved to correct.

In the blink of an eye, he was in her arms, his eyes being dried on her chest while his ears were filled by the calming cadence that was her heartbeat. He could feel her reiatsu, her Aura embracing him in turn, a warm blanket that eased away his pain and sadness, the gentle reminder of the promise she made months ago. Her lips found his crown, and she planted a tender kiss on her son before their eyes met, warm amber meeting bright gold in silence. The smile she had, warm, bright, nurturing, and _loving _was infectious, and it only grew as her son's apprehension dissipated like mist before the morn.

The message was clear; _I will never leave you._..

...If only it lasted.

"NORA!"

Heads turned at breakneck speed towards the girl who should have been unconscious, who was now jumping up and down and causing her pink skirt to flare with her. Her blouse was white, and plain as it was, it was not marred by whatever dirt it should have acquired with her wandering the forest, especially with the enthusiasm she exhibited. The awe was gone, but her turquoise eyes still shined with a glow that could only be brought out by pure, glee; innocence Ichigo no doubt lost but still appreciated in his younger sisters. If anything, the grin on her face simply underlined that truth, just as her melodious laughter filled the clearing and dispelled the depressing mood that suddenly came over it.

His mother looked at her patiently, alternating her smile between the energetic little girl and the son she had placed on the ground. She wore the smile only a mother had any right showing, and with the child's laughter, everything just seemed to glow a little bit brighter. Life returned to the clearing, where once a presence of overwhelming death simply consumed everything in it's wake.

Zangetsu didn't know what to think, confusion in his eyes even as his maniac grin fell to more manageable levels. The girl's happiness was infections, he could not deny that, but he was, like the others, tied to the boy. His own joy stemmed from the relief the King felt after renewing his faith in his mother. Even instinct recognized that family was, and would always be, above all else, and for that he felt what he had never felt outside of the most satisfying of battles; joy. For but that moment, he could feel himself change, into a Zanpakutō instead of a Hollow.

Brennan couldn't hide the smirk on his lips as the situation calmed considerably. From speaking with the child to stopping him from enacting his revenge, the day had gone from relaxing to downright stressful, and even someone with as much patience as he had grew weary. He was satisfied with the outcome, now that he would start training the boy while he grew, if only to protect him and those he loved. Just like those first Quincy, he would act to protect those he loved, though this time, he would do it in a way that would not endanger his family, or the balance.

Narius smiled with relief, seeing that the child he struck was still breathing, and now laughing. Killing her was a very clear possibility, one he tried to eliminate when he leaped into action soon after with Kaido in his hands. He had confidence that Aki would stay with Ichigo, a fact he was happy to be correct about given how the mother and child were smiling lightly; both of them still in close proximity to each other. He didn't lie when he said he was Ichigo's humanity, so it was no surprise he felt the joy he felt, dare he say, even more so that Ichigo did.

Ichigo was happy, both that his mother would stay and that the girl who saw them was still alive. With everything that happened, it was amazing she could still smile, still jump around like the child she was, though that could easily be attributed to the fact that she was ignorant to just how close to death she was. Just another person to protect, he realized, of course, it was no surprise he was glad for her safety. Embarrassment that he had doubted his mother was there, but he couldn't bring himself to feel it as she smiled over him.

Kaiser was the only odd man out, his face marred with trepidation rather that relief when he saw the young child playing around the clearing, now distracted by a butterfly that glided by. He knew the girl, or rather her parents. They were good folk to be sure, but like their daughter, they tended to be a little more that friendly to the people they come across. Now that wasn't so much of a bad thing as he made it out to be in a regular situation, but now, with the people he found himself surrounded with, it would be a revelation that came with severe consequences.

"BOSTOV!" The voice of a man thundered as silence came over the clearing.

Zangetsu began crackling maniacally, much more than he did on a regular basis.

Narius smiled as he always did, though this time there was a shade of true mirth in the grin of the enigma.

Tensa buried his face in one of his hands in a gesture of resignation, somewhat disappointed in the Huntsman.

Nora was grinning from ear to ear, before she began running to the source of the sound without hesitation.

Ichigo almost dropped his jaw.

Kaiser's expression was priceless.

* * *

"Don't even say it." Kaiser said as firmly as possible, struggling and subsequently failing to throw reason to the wind along with another drink back. The only reason why he was being as civil as he was being that the boy's mother continued to sit beside him, her smile as tranquil as ever.

He wasn't a minor anymore, he could still drink in his own office if he wanted to, the boy's obscenely scary mother be damned...

Okay, he didn't mean it that way, but he promised not to get drunk and that seemed to be good enough for her.

Ichigo simply smiled, no doubt hard pressed to keep the laughter in his throat as he eyed the alcoholic Huntsman in a new light. The mirth was short lived, as soon as a striking realization made itself know to the boy. His smile automatically reverted to his trademark scowl as he began glaring holes through the man seated across him. It was a change that did not go unnoticed, by either his mother or Kaiser.

"Suddenly serious, kid?" Kaiser smirked victoriously as Ichigo seemed to react negatively to his show of casualness. "I guess you had to figure it out sooner or later after all, but still..."

"How many?" His tone was icy, sharp enough to cut through whatever he was going to say before he could finish the sentence. In contrast, Ichigo's eyes were blazing with what seemed to be... justice?

No, it was justice, as if the man before him was an uncommon criminal instead of a defender of humanity.

_So that's his angle..._ Kaiser thought with a breath as he showed the boy the back of his hand.

Really, he should have seen something like this coming. With the way he acted all those years ago, of course the first question the Hero of the Winter War and the End of the Thousand Years War, also one of the biggest prudes ever, would pose related to the amount of women he... knew. He couldn't blame the boy, especially because of how he looked in contrast to how he used to look.

It wouldn't be a stretch to call him a handsome young man, just fresh out of the Academies if he ever really studied, and of course there were far too many women he could take advantage of. The only difference between then and now was the fact that they would come to him rather than the other way around, and being who he was, he would capitalize on whatever opportunity he had in a heartbeat.

All the worries the boy had he put to rest by the simple gesture, showing off the glowing golden band encircling one of his fingers. "Just one actually." He said easily, his smirk not receding in the least.

Instead of the reaction he expected, Ichigo simply sighed and glanced around the quaint office. Kaiser himself raised a brow in confusion before brown met warm amber, disappointment glowing behind the latter. He was about to ask what was that look all about before the child shook his head, his voice the furthest thing from humorous. "Really, I should have expected worse, but at least you took responsibility for your mistakes. When can I meet the kid?"

There was silence.

_Well played, Ichigo, very well played._ Kaiser thought before bringing his hand down with a heavy bang, just enough so that the table wouldn't have a dent in it but the sound it made was still deafening. False outrage masked his face as he raised his voice. "Hey, at least I recognize a person's feelings when I see them, you damn eunuch! I'm fucking married! How many relationships did you have?"

He had to give credit to Aki, the woman knew how to read people no matter where or when she came from. From the knowing glance she shot him, it seemed that she knew he was just kidding around, and that her son would also be participating in their less than playful banter. The concern was still their, a sliver of despair that Ichigo would overreact to such a statement about his past.

He didn't disappoint.

"You know what, you damn pervert? I don't even care anymore, because, you know, the world was about to end. Twice! You think I had time to live and act like a normal person after walking away from something like that? We both know I've never been normal, and that I would never been able to be normal even before my parents were finally married, so get off my case, asshole!" The tone the child used was downright malicious, while if looks could kill, the glare he sent the Huntsman would have decimated more armies than his blade had when he possessed full control of his powers.

"Prude."

"Idiot"

"Crybaby!"

"Trash!"

"Mama's Boy!"

"Cross-dresser!"

"Strawberry!"

"Damn it, I've had it up to here with you!" The child bellowed before making a beeline towards the man behind the desk, only to see a hand hold him back by the head as he swung his hands in vain. He was sent back to his seat with a light push before he met Kaiser's gaze with an arctic glare. "This isn't over yet, idiot. I'll get back at you for everything, you hear me? Everything!"

"And I'll enjoy these peaceful days while it lasts, when I'm finally the one bigger than you, kid." Kaiser retorted with a smirk before offering his hand to the boy. "Either way, it's been a while, Ichigo."

The two were too busy in their little reunion that neither could see the radiant smile of a proud mother.

"Far too long, Kon." He grasp the had gratefully, two old friend reuniting after what seemed like years of separation. "So tell me, who's the goddess who finally decided to take you off the market?"

The modified soul looked at the boy for a moment. _He's grown up._ Never was a time that Ichigo would ask something like that, either to him, his friends, even those he battled with. He smiled more, he seemed happier even if the situation demanded he give in to despair in a heartbeat. He regained his faith, he believed in a future for once, as well as his hope when he spoke with the soul. He changed.

He had love.

"But before we do that, where's the kid we found? I'm sure Valkyrie wouldn't like it if we left his daughter was wandering around again."

"That's how she got lost the first time right?" Ichigo asked, effectively blindsided. "I'm sure either Tens-Brennan or Zangestu's watching over her"

A beat.

"Fuck."

* * *

"Are you sure this is fine, ZZ?" Nora asked, apprehension layering her voice as the wind blew past.

"Call me that one more time and I'll throw you off!" Zangetsu growled back at the girl, before another much louder cry shook the air. "Shut up!"

To say that they got off on the wrong foot would be the understatement of the millennium. Right behind Aizen couldn't be that bad, right? And, for the record, yes, the mad megalomaniac captain that seemed to do no wrong wasn't that bad, he was much worse than any of them, from Quincy to Royal Guard, could have assumed. If all the world's evil was condensed into one being, Aizen would _inhale_ it then probably complain about the quality of air before continuing his perfectly planned, choreographed, measured and remeasured scheme on scheme on scheme to take over reality itself.

All without losing that insufferable smirk of his.

Now as bad as that was, Zangetsu would even argue it wasn't much of a problem considering how many Hollows and Quincy he killed, the girl he was stuck with was something of a different kind.

It was sunshine and rainbows, with her. It was always warm, always happy, always smiles, peace on earth and innocence taken to such an obscene degree that it could probably be weaponized given enough time. She had the energy to back it up too, requiring not a moment to recover from her awed state, even after they had a short exchange of blows. And the talking, oh the damn talking.

For some reason, she didn't shut up. AT. ALL.

At one point, he couldn't hear himself think with the rate words flew from her mouth. He battled Quincies for crying out loud, he knew what it was like to face down a veritable monsoon of arrows raining down to kill him and him alone. That prospect left him undaunted, but to find a girl who didn't seem to need to breathe when she fired words at rates that rivaled several machine guns was unnerving.

No, the proper adjective would be annoying, to an extent that it was beginning to _hurt_.

The worst of it was that he was ditched in the middle of the babysitting duty thrust upon him. Tensa, or Brennan as he preferred in public, was a known associate of Kaiser, and so when the latter was busy dealing with the King and his mother, that left the Hollow to care for the child. Needless to say, he was informed when he had no other choice but to reply, specifically after the Quincy dumped them alone in the forest, at least a few miles from the village. He would have left, he would have loved to if it wouldn't bring the wrath of a vengeful mother down on the quartet.

The Valkyrie was a threat, he never doubted that for a second, but only to those who would be inevitably caught in his rampage if he found his daughter was left to die, on purpose. An enraged animal tended to lash out indiscriminately, but it was nothing Kaiser and Aki together couldn't handle. When it came right down to it, Ichigo would probably be hard pressed to defeat him alone, simply because he would be adverse to fighting the man in the first place. The other three of them would most likely classify such a fight as a warm up or even less considering their natures. Narius would have the hardest time among the three but it would still be comparatively easy.

The true problem they would encounter would be the wrath of Aki. She was a mother through and through, and as a past Huntress, she had a sense of justice that was almost impeccable. She was forgiving as long the resolution involved no bloodshed but she spared no mercy for the truly guilty. If she ever caught scent of the plan he was brewing, she would make sure he suffered for even thinking about doing such a thing to a child.

He had experienced her wrath before, and that was when no one actually died, even he dreaded what she had in store for those who successfully killed.

So he drew on what little patience he had to try and live with the girl. It wasn't to hard at first, she talked enough for the both of them and was content with having given voice to her thoughts. He simply listened quietly, trying to keep his mouth shut in case anything he didn't want her hearing slipped past his lips. But as seconds ticked by, his task would grow exponentially more difficult.

It would have been fine if what she spoke of made sense. It was happy, and that could have been something he could deal with. He was instinct after all, and taking care of the two younger twins was something he was a proud part of. If it was just the nonsensical mutterings of a little sister, then he would have had the patience to suffer in silence, and maybe even humor the little girl by participating.

But it wasn't

It was pure sound.

Her words were blending with each other, forming one long word that seemed to span minutes at a time when she went full speed. He could barely decipher the more common words, but as it continued, whatever she spewed simply rang out as offensively as nails screeching against the surface of the blackboard or a banshee screaming into the night as death came for his victim.

It made no sense at all, and after a minute, he was convinced that he had died and this was a special Hell, tailor made just for him.

In the silence of the skies, he found himself wondering why he chose to endure two whole hours with that... that thing before making the smart decision. It was perfect, he mused while looking down on the girl who still continued talking as if he was still beside her. She wasn't in any immediate danger, and even if she did encounter something that could potentially hurt her, it wasn't like he couldn't cross the distance in an instant and make sure she doesn't get hurt... too badly. He could enjoy the silence while his conscience remained clear, and best of all, no one could fault him for doing anything wrong.

The exact words of Tensa were "Just keep an eye on her."

Who ever said that the Hollow was stupid?

It was just a bonus that she decided that he was playing hide and seek with her, that gave him the much needed time to think about their next move.

Until that moment when everything was made whole again, their main goal was to restore Ichigo to his old strength. They had accomplished that as soon as they were reunited, merging together just proved that his power had once again exceeded all expectations. But even as they accomplished their goal, they had inadvertently opened another can of worms they would have to deal with as soon as possible. They were in an entirely different dimension, no one truly allowed that fact to sink in while they were busy looking for each other. Now that the dust settled, they found themselves at a crossroads.

They were not of this world, and if they were there, as was Tessai, there was a large possibility that the others would be as well. Being a problem in itself, there were other factors to consider, like the way they would appear or the time and sequence they surfaced in the current world. As far as he knew, Tessai realized his predicament and found a home over three decades ago, while Kaiser had less than a decade of a head start according to Brennan. With that being the case, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that the others could have appeared any time from a century to a year before then.

Then there was the future to consider, if by any chance Ichigo managed to surface before any of them.

There was also the apparent age they had to consider.

Ichigo himself looked like child, probably the exact age he was when he lost his beloved mother, and the trio were no different in the fact that they too regressed. Brennan looked like a teen just before puberty struck full force, but then again it was the least distance between his old form as the teenage version of the Quincy King. Zangetsu himself was the closes to Ichigo in apparent age, probably bearing the appearance of a ten year old who was taller than most his age. The cleaver towered over him, the only reason he was able to wield it was the fact that even if it dragged through the earth, he possessed enough strength to tear through the ground with little resistance. Narius was the eldest looking among them, being Ichigo's original age; 15.

It would make perfect sense if Urahara would look like a child or Yoruichi would suddenly look like an old lady if they ever crossed paths again. Whatever allowed them to cross over to the new world apparently changed their ages, but if Tessai was to be considered, there was also the possibility that they would retain their ages. It would save them from confusion if that was the case, rendering it a minor problem at most. In truth, the former case of meeting them at all would be more emotionally taxing to the boy who fought two wars at the tender age of 17.

He would still like it more if they reappeared though, now most especially the rest of his family. There was just a distinct and real possibility that he would have older twin sisters, or his father may not be as old as he used to be. But again, that was a minor inconvenience rather than a real problem.

No, the main problem stemmed from the fact that their enemies could have easily survived and consequently were plotting to take over or destroy this world as well.

More than that, there was a possibility they finished their cycles or reincarnation and returned with a vengeance. Almost all Hollows, save those killed the Quincy, were powerful enough to retain there memories. The Espada, the Bount, revolutionaries, even some of the Tojo could make an appearance and the world seemed chaotic enough as it was to deal with threats even more fearsome than Grimm.

As much as the Zanpakutō wanted a worthy opponent, not even he would wish for their enemies to return.

He was a battle maniac after all, living for the thrill of the fight, the possibility of kill or be killed, but more than that he was a protector. He relished the fight, pushing to meet others in combat even if it's not exactly necessary, but if it directly jeopardized those he deemed under his protection, heads would roll faster than the drone of Sonido could reach the victims' ears. Those they fought, from the blasphemous captain to the corrupted child of the Soul King were beings who threatened those around them just by existing. The mere possibility that they were there was troubling to say the least.

At least they had time on their side this time. Time to prepare for any eventuality and form contingency after contingency just in case the worse came to pass and _both _of them were not only alive, but working together. Their powers were nothing compared to the boy's now, and if he learned control, there would be nothing that could stand in their way. He would have to tell them of the possibilities, he almost laughed at the irony, and kick their training into high gear just to be safe. He was sure they would understand, considering who they would be dealing with.

A clash between a transcended being, a bona fide god, and the King would not end well if they didn't have every odd in their favor.

His musings were cut short when he heard a scream pierce the air below him.

* * *

Nora wasn't stupid, no matter how much she showed otherwise.

She was a child, yes, but she possessed the intuition only children had heightened to a degree that was frightening. It was the one that told children when to smile, when their playmates were happy or sad or when they were just tired. For someone her age, she was surprisingly empathetic, hence her attitude towards life in general. As someone who knew no reason for sorrow, she had trouble comprehending why others would find it so hard to smile, and so she would do the only think children like her could. She would try to be happy enough for everyone.

So when she was paired up with what looked like the most emotionally troubled person she ever met, she brought her A-game.

She smiled as hard as she could, a brightening grin that would blind lesser men and ran her mouth faster than the heaviest torrent. She laughed, so much that animals came out to see what all the hullabaloo was all about and she had as much fun as she could possibly have in front of the strange man tasked to watch her as he father dealt with the boring stuff he called 'business'.

It looked like nothing was working.

Her father taught her never to give up though, and so, like a true trooper, she continued on, snowballing as time past until she was, if she said so herself, JOY INCARNATE.

Imagine her surprise when one moment, she was laughing at her babysitter's side, not that she would ever admit that she enjoyed their company, and the next moment there was no one there in the clearing other than her.

Even she would admit that it hurt when he left her all alone, when all she was trying to do was make him smile a bit.

She was empathetic, so much so that it hurt. When a person beside her was happy, she couldn't help but smile with them, even if she didn't know what exactly they were so happy about. But happiness, genuine happiness outside her happy little family was shockingly rare that when she was surrounded by others, her empathy turned into a dagger. Fear stabbed through her heart as sorrow racked her form whenever she felt another was sad, or afraid. Anger burned within her when one was offended while shame and despair consumed her when another just lost the will to hope again.

Spending time with an embodiment of despair itself, yes she could tell he was just that empty, was the most painful thing she ever felt. But she was innocent in the way only children could be, so all she wanted to do was make him feel better. She could have ran away from him, begging to stay in the cramped little office with her father instead of insisting to go out in the forest with the older boy.

She knew he was in pain, that he was never truly happy for any length of time, and her response was to try and make him smile even for a little bit.

So she steeled her resolve and searched for him, it wasn't in her nature to give up anyway.

"Mr. Zangetsu, where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are!" She yelled as she trudged through the forest alone, treating the way he just abandoned her like a game of hide and seek. He wouldn't leave a child alone. She just felt that even if she wasn't an appreciated presence, he wouldn't just leave her to fend for herself. "Hello!? Mr. Zangestu! Zangzang! Zeezee!"

Every tree truck was circled, every branch was checked and every dip in the path was scoured for the monochrome spirit. It shouldn't have been that hard to find someone who dressed in white in a forest that was mostly brown, black, and green. Every bush was checked while the distance was carefully scrutinized for any sign of her older companion, her will not faltering in the least even as the sun began it's decent. She had faith that he was there, somewhere. She even tried to look up every now and again, the memory of seeing them in the sky pervading her mind even as she knew flying was impossible.

It didn't bother to try, but the disappointment of not seeing him there was closing in on her breaking point.

She had to admit that she was afraid. She was never left alone for any true length of time as she was still a child, living in a world where even she knew that monsters did exist. She knew that her parents weren't there to make everything better if ever it got worse, and that she left her favorite bear somewhere back in the village in her excitement to get the scowling boy to smile. In hindsight, bringing Lord Fluffy the Adorable would have the much needed push she needed to make him smirk even just a little, as well as the only thing that kept her still when she was alone.

When she heard the bushes rustling softly a few paces away, she couldn't describe the relief she felt. "That was mean, ZZ!" She cried out before breaking into a run towards the source of the sound.

She didn't hear the muffled scream that came from above in her joy, but she did trip before reaching her destination, sending her tumbling down the mild incline and into a clearing just in front of the bushes. The laughter just came out as she slowed, her body not hurting as much as it should as her mind was still reeling from the sudden spin. "Let's do that again, right ZZ?" She called out gleefully as the leaves parted.

The scream couldn't even leave her throat as she laid eyes on the biggest... living thing she had ever seen.

She heard the stories. She knew of the Grimm and even after hearing tale after tale where the hero slew swaths of monsters to get to the princess or save the town, this was the first time she stared at the death of Hunters in the face.

The eyes glowed even more terrifyingly that the blood red moon after the white light was consumed by the darkness of the night. It's bone mask shone like unholy light in the middle of earthly gloom, and the spines that grew out it's back grew to heights that towered over her child-like form. It's armor was hard and strong, more than enough to crush her head without any effort and take blows able to do so without fear as its claws were long and sharp, glowing in the twilight and threatening to cut away the light itself. It didn't growl, it didn't roar at her to consume her in terror, no, it was like it could tell that she was already as afraid as she could ever be.

It was here, and she knew that all it wanted at that very moment was to _kill_ her.

It bared its teeth, the mockery of a smile, before powerful legs forced it forward...

She closed her eyes; she had long lost any strength she had to look.

A moment passed...

Sound itself stopped and she was surrounded by pure blackness, two of her senses refusing to continue due to the sheer terror she felt...

And another...

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as she felt the warm breath of the monster seeping through her thin sundress...

Another...

"Hey kid." Her eyes snapped open to see the giant Ursa restrained, the older boy standing nonchalantly beside it. "You alright?"

When sight finally had deigned it fitting to allow her to focus, her own turquoise eyes veiled with unshed tears, she just couldn't help herself anymore.

"WAAAAAH!"

The two found themselves on the ground, the smaller child in a sundress crying with her arms wrapped around the boy in white who as quite confused with the situation. Her tears began falling as her breath turned ragged, sobs erupting sporadically while the tears fell into the white cloth that formed the white robe. She couldn't describe how she felt anymore, having been dragged through a storm of different emotions in such a short time.

"You meanie!" She screamed into his chest, yet the wet cloth muffled her cry to some degree as Zangetsu simply chuckled.

She looked up in outrage, her mouth already open to give the older boy a piece of her mind, but his finger beat her to the punch, lightly landing on her forehead in a flick. "Just keep quiet for now." He said firmly, but there was kindness in his golden eyes, and his pale skin seemed to shine just a little bit brighter. Almost like a sibling would, he ruffled her hair before easing her head against his chest.

The anger, the sadness, the despair she felt from his was suddenly gone, replaced by a warmth she only felt when she was with her parents. In contrast to his abrasive presence when they first met and the instinctual fear she felt for him, there was kindness, and even protectiveness about him that she never felt before. "It's the duty of the elder brother to protect his younger sister, don't you think?"

She looked up at him with eyes filled with bemusement as he smiled, not a strange grin she spied before when he spoke with the other three boys, but one reserved for a kind elder brother. "You really think I would have left you alone? What do you think your father would do to me if I did that?" She couldn't help but giggle at the way he said it so seriously, like he could be afraid of the soft sweetheart that was her father. "Yeah, just laugh it up, little girl. I'm not the one who screamed when I saw a little Ursa."

"Ursa?"She asked, glancing at the monster that was held beside them, kept in place by a myriad of red ribbons that covered most if it's body. It was a wonder that not even it's claws and teeth could cut through the seemingly soft fabric. Even more amazing was its ability to glow against the montser's black fur, just like it's eyes did.

No, that wasn't all of it. The crimson glow that dyed the long winding ribbons shined brighter than the beast's eyes ever could, hiding power that was terrifying to feel and yet beautiful to bear witness to. At least she would say, though they didn't feel very different, she would rather play among the folds of the mysterious cloth than with the giant spiked bear.

"Yeah, that thing." He nodded in its direction nonchalantly before his stoic expression shifted into a mischievous grin. "Hey, do you want to do something fun?"

At that moment, she didn't know what to feel. She succeeded, but all it took was putting her life in danger, and as much as the success itself was good she didn't know how her father would react if he heard what had happened. Of course that was considering _if_ he ever got wind of the true story... She would take what she could get, a bit of fun, with a companion this time, was something she would never turn away.

She nodded enthusiastically, that was until she looked at the horizon.

For a moment she was consumed by the twilight that spread across the sky like a veil being removed to reveal something beautiful. Orange, vermilion and byzantine blended to form a symphony of color that took her breath away as she sat in the middle of a clearing with her new friend. With the leaves swaying in the light breeze, silver clouds painted gold dancing in the sky and the warmth of an elder brother cradling her, everything was just perfect. She wanted it to last as long as possible, or pass just so that she could have proper playtime with her new older bother, but her parent's warning won over her thirst for adventure.

_"Nora, you can play, but don't wander off too far and be back before dark, okay?"_

"Dad said we can't be out to late, so we can't play anymore." She muttered deflated as she looked at Zangetsu with a hint of sorrow and disappointment before bouncing back. "But we can still play tomorrow, right? I'll be here until daddy is done with his boring buinsessy businesses, so we can play all week, and talk, and eat and explore and runaroundplaygamesdressupandmaybewecanflyagain..."

A hand landed gently, covering her mouth as the grin of the boy before her grew wider. "Oh no, we don't need to wait for tomorrow to have fun."

"Really?" She seemed unsure, her head tilting in confusion, much like a cat would. There was no way she misinterpreted what her father said, right? "But we need to start walking home."

"Who said anything about walking?"

* * *

Narius's eye twitched.

"So you two rode an Ursa back here..." He said dejectedly, letting out a sigh, but whether in relief or frustration, no one could tell. "I don't know if I should be proud or angry."

"What did you do?" Zangetsu retorted just as easily as darkness fell.

They were on the outskirts of the village, left there as their companions had dinner and caught up. They slipped away just as the doting parents finally introduced their children, Zangetsu particularity hurried as Nora glanced at him with the innocence and mischievousness only a child could have. Ichigo lost both during the war, a long time ago and looking at them like that was juts plain strange.

Plus, he just didn't want to be there when they finally discovered what he did when they were alone.

It was just strange to do so with someone who wasn't Yuzu or Karin. He didn't even know if they were still here, alive and wondering about them.

Still, finding the hollow so astute was surprising. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Zangetsu."

"Bullshit." There was no malice, but the knowing, the judgement was there as if the hammer itself was brought down on the unknown. "You said you were his humanity, and only you could make me do something like that. Not even the King or the damn Quincy could influence me like that, so I'll ask again, what did you do? Better yet, answer this one, what the hell are you?"

"I'm his humanity." Narius answered levelly before eyeing the Hollow with condescending superiority. "You should know, as instinct, comforting someone younger than you should come naturally. I know you are out of practice, but it's still there. I'm not surprised you did so for someone who looked so much like Ichigo. It's in your nature, Zangestu, and to act on instinct is your nature. I did nothing."

The Bala crossed the distance to explode against a barrier of bright gold. "She looks nothing like him, even if the hair is somewhat the same. She's a girl for god's sake, and she's nothing like the twins either if you even think of saying something like that." Golden eyes narrowed at the golden glow. "Come to think of it, I remember seeing that power before, somewhere no human should ever go..."

"...And come back from." Narius finished easily as crimson eyes glowed bright with satisfaction. "Hell, yes, I do believe that was the first time he ever used himself in his fullness. I assure you, I am not confirmation that Ichigo is cursed with eternal damnation when he finally dies. He was just so blind to his true nature that it was only then, when he truly accepted himself as human and hollow, did I surface. I had to after all, since I am his humanity. Tensa is the proof that he descended from Gods, while you are his corruption. I am simply all that is left, what he was and what he could be."

"I'm a monster, Narius." Zangetsu retorted as easily. "I have not a caring bone in my body, but a while ago I acted like the King does with his siblings. That does not just happen, not when I've threatened, several times, to do unspeakable things to them just to get the King to fight seriously. I couldn't have, not when even now all I can think of is ripping you apart for lying to me."

The blade was on his neck faster than he could blink. "I don't care if you don't tell me, that's your call after all, but if you ever force me to do anything like that ever again, I will consume you. I'm supposed to have killed you even before the King was born, I can easily do it again if you really want to force the issue."

Zangetsu knew there was a blade in his chest, straight through his Hollow Hole and ready to cut him in an instant just as he made his threat. Narius just smiled. "I didn't do anything remember, and I've been telling you again and again what I am, it's your problem if you don't believe me. Really, you're just like Ichigo sometimes, not even believing the truth when it's right in front of you."

The Hollow smiled in response, his teething lengthening to the vicious canines his mask possessed even before he dawned the fears om visage of bone. "You're like that bastard of a Quincy yourself, asshole, always speaking in riddles and hiding the truth in a maze of words. You can't be what you say you are, and even if it was just that simple, there will always be something you're hiding."

He sheathed his sword in obsidian bandages, hiding it from sight against the darkness of night. "I'm not the horse anymore, I'm the sword he wields. Tensa has always been the chains that bind him, though now it's consensual, as disgusting as that sounds. I can tell a bit of what you are, boy, it's part of being the instinct. Just make sure that as his armor, you protect him as you should."

"I thought you didn't care about anything Zangetsu." Narius smirked, withdrawing his own sword from within the chest of the Hollow as it dissipated as well.

Zangetsu simply scoffed. "Self-preservation is as close as you get, even the wildest of beasts posses that instinct."

"We're good then?" Narius asked with his hand outstretched.

"Just dandy." Zangestu replied with a grip that could crush mountains.

The unknown, or the human if he was honest, responded with equally fearsome strength.

"Let's start talking about the next move then." Narius shrugged as he placed his hands at the back of his head.

"I thought it was obvious."

"Brennan?"

"Tensa is fine if we're alone." The Quincy king replied with a smirk as he removed his shades, the tinted glasses not suited for night time.

"What do you mean by obvious, you bastard?" Zangestu asked impatiently.

"I'm sure you've given some thought to it, and if so there is only one true solution at this point. We train him with all we have." A slight gesture stirred the air around them as a void opened into a new dimension. "The enemies are many, either from our dimension or here, and to deal with them, Ichigo would need all the power and skill he can muster. Only that could keep him from falling into despair."

"So you found out as well?" Narius queried, malice dripping from his voice as a vicious smile played on his lips. "I thought it would take longer for anyone to discover that.

"I had a head start after all, not too much evades my eyes." Tensa shrugged off the murmurings of the human as he addressed both before him. "That in itself should have killed any other living Knights but we can't be sure, so we must strengthen the boy until no adversary can triumph against him. Not even us. Only then can we ensure that it would never rain in his world ever again."

"So you want to make him into a god then, Quincy?" Zangestu's grin spread from ear to ear as he nodded, the black sclera returning as he looked to the portal.

"He's already in that league, Zangestu, all we have to do is make sure he continues rising." Narius added, a devilish smirk on his face while crimson glowed brighter that starlight.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

**AN: **

***DEEP BREATH***

**Sorry it's late, I had exams and all that stuff going of in school. I wanted to be an Engineering Student and now it's getting to me. **

**Well Thanks for the support to everyone who reviewed but at this moment, answering would give some spoilers. As for future plans, you guys will just have to look forward to that and see just how far down the rabbit hole goes.**

**Canon characters are here and the first is... NORA! **

**More will come soon and at random so don't expect a proper order to the chaos.**

**I will have to apologize, but to limit disappointment, here's a warning: I WILL TRY MY BEST TO UPDATE WEEKLY, BUT WORST CASE SCENARIO WILL BE BI-WEEKLY. **

***BOW***

**That being said, I just made it (8k words in 3 hours is much more tireing than I thought)**

**Hope you all enjoyed the long awaited canon character, more to come soon.**

**THIS HAS BEEN PROCCIT**

***sigh***

**BYE BYE! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Return; Symphony of Black and White**

* * *

"So it's somewhere here?" Ichigo asked the black clad spirit behind him with a satisfied smile. His nod elicited a tired sigh from the young teenager; they had finally reached their destination.

Life for the boy seemed to get more and more hectic ever since Nora Valkyrie and her monster of a father left the little town they were staying at. The time with the girl was fun, even Ichigo would admit that much. She had reminded him of, strangely, himself when he was still, for lack of a better term, younger; so full of life and energy that she couldn't help but let it out all over the place. Even he, as war-torn and traumatized as he was after serving as fate's personal plaything, appreciated the endless happiness the girl excluded. He was somewhat forced to get used to it after all, his mother insisting he spent time with her.

But it was when she left that his life would change.

Not even an hour after they parted, he was dragged through a black tear in space, only to face his three spirits on a platform of pure reishi. His training as a Quincy had begun.

He couldn't even wonder if that was how Ishida trained, not when he was facing thousands of arrows raining down on him compounded by the fact that he was confined in such a small space. The saying 'like fish in a barrel' would never be more apt in describing the situation, especially after Tensa began shooting with _both_ his hands. With the body of a child, it was only a matter of time before he fell.

And fall he did.

He woke up the next day in pain, only Narius by his side with the remnants of Kaidō still on his hands. They were waiting for him, the unknown said before tapping the boy's chest, drawing amber eyes to the cross shaped scar that rested on delicate scarred skin. The blond-haired boy shook his head even before Ichigo could say a word and urged him to lie back down before the pain got too much to bear.

He could only cry in anguish as a new wave racked his form before he saw two fingers hovering over his eyes.

In a literal blink on an eye his surroundings changed, from the small room he stayed at to his inner world.

His eyes widened at the sight unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Skyscrapers were crumbling one by one while the heavens poured water as if the old legends were true and oceans once resided in the skies while a thin layer separated the heavens and the earth. He could see that he was dying on the inside, and yet he could not feel the hopelessness, the despair when such a thing happened before. He felt peace even as he knew Soul Suicide was taking it's toll.

His powers were mixed from the beginning, but the lack of a true Quincy source kept the terrible condition at bay. Now that he received the true portion of the Quincy's strength, Soul Suicide seemed inevitable. That was, if he didn't have a spirit capable of serving as a medium between the two, regulating the power that clashed within his soul, slowly eroding at his very being.

Great thing that he did, Narius suddenly appearing with Zangestu and Tensa in tow, just as the destruction abruptly ceased. That was when he learned everything about the Quincy, from their true origins, their motivations, they way they fought and, their potential as humans and yet spiritually aware. Tensa, as a fragment of the Quincy Emperor, shared all the knowledge he thought Ichigo needed to live as a Quincy and at the same time, master the power that could very much kill him and all around him if he wasn't careful.

The boy took to learning the art like a fish to water and soon enough, he could materialize a second blade, along with the falchion Narius gave him as a sign of his mastery.

That was little more than a year ago, when he truly started learning from all within him, from Fullbring whose power was the manipulation of the Soul, Hollow's the channeling of instinct and despair, and Quincy with the control of power itself. He wouldn't be lying if he said that the gap between the child who roared for his mother on an icy tundra and the teenager standing on a platform of reishi was vast.

In that time, he also figured out what Tensa occupied his time with and how he found Kon when he searched the new world. As it turned out, Kon managed to enter the ranks of Hunters, those who fought against the Creatures of Grimm; the darkness in the world, and Tensa, in an attempt to gain information and evade Ichigo, accompanied him on various missions the mod soul took.

While generally guarding the village they resided in, something completely natural given that they were far from the capital of the kingdom, Kon, with Tensa's aid, managed to erect a barrier that all but prevented Grimm from entering the village proper. That innovation allowed the mod soul to go out and partake in missions all over the Kingdom, and in effect, allowe Tensa to explore with a greater degree of freedom. All in all, it was a win-win situation for both parties, both wanting to escape the small village and see what the world was like now that it had changed.

For a boy, itching to test his new-found strength, it was only proper that Ichigo be sent on a mission, and since Kaiser was not in the position to accompany him, Brennan took his place as representative.

As for why he needed a representative, who in their right mind would trust a boy to do the work of a Hunter without the support of a trained warrior. Also, it was not like Ichigo could, or rather wanted to, advertise that he was more than enough to take on several hunters without breaking a sweat. He did not like using too much power after what happened the first time they all returned to his inner world.

That being said, the representative was a front, so that whatever clients they had would believe that Kaiser was the one accepting and performing the mission. The power or the Yourself never had been so useful as it was when Brennan started impersonating Kaiser.

For some reason, Zangestu would always snicker at the memory while he shivered in fear.

"The objective is just below us. If we hurry, we may be able to make it back by tomorrow morning." Tensa stated offhandedly before dawning his shades. "I'm sure this will be easy for you after all."

"Yeah, yeah, don't kill anyone, don't damage the target and finish the mission in as little time as possible." Ichigo quipped before the platform dissipated and he started plummeting down.

"Mission, start."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"You sent him where?" The last vestiges of sleep were shaken off when she heard Kaiser speak. She was aware that Ichigo would be sent on a mission that day, the boy had been acting his age for once and was practically, as far as he would do it, jumping with joy at the thought of testing his new powers out. As a mother, it was her right to worry, not that she thought he couldn't handle himself.

When it came right down to it, she knew that even Kaiser, a fully realized Huntsman would have trouble facing her son in single combat, and that wasn't factoring in the training he received since they settled in the little village. After everything she saw her son was capable off, she knew there was very little that could truly threaten him in battle.

That didn't stop her from worrying after what she heard, although her apprehension stemmed from a different source.

"We don't know where exactly, but reports said that the princess is being held somewhere south of here." Kaiser replied offhandedly as he attended to his papers. "It'll be fine, Aki, it's not like I sent him to the White Fang without any help. Why don't you just continue your research? I'm sure the tower Brennan completed would help a lot, now that you can access the archives" He assured her with a faint smile in hopes that it would get her to stop worrying.

As for Aki, the past year she immersed herself in all the information she could find relating to... well anything at all. She was like them in a sense, lost within the world even though it was her own, and as a responsible Huntress, and more than that as a mother, she found whatever she could find about whatever she could find. It wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, considering that she had a knack for history. The access Kaiser had as a Huntsman wasn't bad either, so most of the information she took was accurate as well as relevant if not in the field of battle, then in politics, technology and the like.

She knew probably could access the mainframe herself but then it would be very troublesome if a dead person resurfaced especially when she didn't even know who she was.

But that wasn't the current problem, what was happened to be the temperature seemingly lowering as Aki smiled. Suddenly, she had Kaiser's undivided attention. "Can you repeat what you said, Kon?"

Kaiser's trembling intensified. The only time Aki would call him Kon or call Brennan, Tensa was when she wasn't exactly happy with them. Still he tried his best not to stutter in front of the boy's mother, he was still a Huntsman after all. "Um... Aki-san, he was just going to the White Fang to accomplish a simple rescue mission. It's not something you should be worried about after what Ichigo-kun is capable of. He's perfectly fine with Brennan watching over him and serving as my representative. He'll return safe and sound, I give you my word, so please just stop worrying."

Her next words shook him to the core. "Can you give me your word that I won't be the mother of a murderer by the time he gets back?" The tone was nonchalant and her voice was almost silent but there was something there that he couldn't ignore. There was certainty in her voice when she spoke those words, as if there was a true possibility that he would kill when faced by the White Fang.

But that shouldn't have been a possibility with how Kaiser knew Ichigo fought. Never one to go for the kill, the boy fought like a master of the sword, though if that had anything to do with his Quincy blood and the ability to absorb soul fragments, he couldn't tell. There was only one true instance when the boy killed, and that was during the Fullbring incident when he was betrayed and his family used against him. Even when he turned into a monster, he fought to kill only when he was protecting someone, and that was someone he cared about more often than not.

Kaiser face-palmed. _And now I forced him in a situation where the enemies threatened his** mother **of all people and he may be forced to protect someone while they escape. _He could easily call that an isolated incident, assuming she knew the Fullbring conundrum, and there was also his maturity to consider. He of all people knew that holding on to hatred was one of the worst things to do.

The Quincy were perfect examples of what could happen when hatred was allowed to fester and boil for more than a millennium

The boy was smart enough to let that go...

...right?

He had faith in the boy. "Yes, I give you my word that he would come back to you as clean as he left, and you know how I mean that." He added thoughtfully before returning to his papers. "You know how missions are, it's almost impossible to return clean as a whistle, especially when it comes to those hunting down the darkness in humankind. Sometimes the Grimm are a blessing."

She eyed him curiously before nodding. There was no use worrying about her boy now. "How so?"

"If the Grimm didn't exist, and everything else, from Dust and all, did, then I'm sure that humans would have turned on each other by now." He noted, putting a pen to his lips in thought before he continued to scribble. "Just look at the White Fang for a moment. They are part of the 'darkness' we Hunters should purify, but in truth, they are more noble than we are. They fight for themselves too."

"The faunus." She sighed, reclining deeper into the couch as she did so. "A whole different can of worms I'd rather not open. Please don't think to badly of me Kaiser..."

"You're more worried for them than for your son?" He asked offhandedly before waving it off. "Trust me, when you see some of their operatives... it robs you of your will to go on."

"Child soldiers?"

The silence was all the reply she ever needed.

What was to be a fine day lay in ruins.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo was frustrated.

_Easy, he said. It would just be another missing person mission, he said. It's nothing you can't handle, he said._ Ichigo mentally grumbled as he looked at the heavens with a glint of defiance. As much as he wanted to scream, just to let it all out, he wouldn't. No, he had too much self control to do something so childishly futile when he had other things to worry about. Besides, it was much too cliche.

"Are you done yet?" Tensa drawled with a tired expression as another gale of wind whipped forth, tearing apart any clouds in the vicinity as the twister rocketed skywards. "That's not going to do much either, you know?" Aside, the remnants of the wind-based Kidō were still visible on the boy's hands, the telltale glow of power that seemed to be only inherent to the boy clinging to his fingers.

At least Ichigo had the decency to look away when the Quincy brought his tantrum to his attention.

True, the mission was simple at first glance; just another search and rescue mission often given to Kaiser when someone somehow wandered out of the village. More often than not, they were rescued by a combination of extreme reiatsu or Aura sensing on Tensa's part and Kaiser's sheer physical ability against the Grimm. It stood to reason that Ichigo, possessing a surplus of both, would have no trouble given the same mission. Of course, Fate being the insufferable trickster it was, the mission proved to be much more difficult in practice, especially considering Ichigo's new found powers.

The mission consisted of hunting down a certain princess, Ichigo could only speculate why Kaiser called her that, who was somewhere in the forests. How she got there, what she was doing, why she was there, he didn't particularly care since the mission didn't require those parameters, but the who, the where, and the when were paramount when it came to things as delicate as these.

It was a girl of course, though the only other description he was blessed with was the fact that he would 'know her when he saw her'. That didn't really help much, but even after beating Kaiser within an inch of his life and healing him after, that was the only thing the annoying mod soul knew so he left it at that. The where was the forest in that particular region, which also happened to be another base of the White Fang. That narrowed it down significantly, as the base itself took up a mere fraction of the entire forest. The last, hopefully would be that day, or so he said when he spoke to Kaiser.

_I shouldn't have said I'd have her in a day._ Ichigo thought regretfully as he continued to reassess the situation. There had to be something he had missed.

It just couldn't have been that bad.

The White Fang as of late, if his mother's information was correct, have been quite underground in their operations. From the archives of the capital, they were still behaving, like the peaceful anti-discriminatory faction they made themselves to be, but what personal experience taught them was that the organisation was a merciless militarized machine hell bent on revolution. That base their target was currently held in was somewhat proof of that though that particular piece of information was only relevant in the way he could deal with them.

He would fight as per normal, no mercy yet at the same time no killing.

Bringing them close to death and then healing them after was a viable option though.

No, his main problem was in the fact that he knew where they were, down to the meter if his senses didn't fool him, but then he couldn't do a thing about it. The fact that the White Fang are underground was far more literal than he could have thought, and though a few feet was fine, the extent they took it was extreme. Really, the only one he thought could pull off a stunt like that was Urahara.

To further explain his frustration, one had to look at his skills. Over the past year, he definitely got better in terms of detecting reiatsu thanks to the method taught to him by both the Hollow and the Quincy. It was the exact opposite of what Tessai had taught him when he was mastering Kidō, that instead of focusing his strength into himself and releasing it only when needed, to sense he needed to spread his power as thin as possible while keeping the 'body' of power as uniform as he could. In effect, he would have an 'area' he could 'see' via the differences in reiatsu concentration.

This came almost naturally to him since his power seemed to beg to be released, keeping it uniform was easy enough when it got far enough that his power actually thinned out to the level of normal Shinigami. This gave him unparalleled range, as well as frightening accuracy when it came to sensing, something that eluded him for the past years when he needed those skills in the war.

Like every technique, it was not without it's flaws. He could only see things that naturally produced reiatsu; living, breathing, beings, and that in itself posed a problem. In effect, all he really 'saw' was a set of motes of light of varying intensity in a sphere of pure darkness. His power seeped into and consequently ignored more conventional obstacles such as rock and trees even if they did have souls.

That would not have made his mission as much of a problem as it was if the closest being, save Tensa, was not at least a hundred feet _directly below_ him. To make matters worse, this was a _rescue_ mission in nature, which meant that he couldn't exactly tunnel his way down when he could easily cause a cave in that could kill whoever he was trying to rescue.

That wouldn't be good for his nonexistent reputation.

He couldn't tunnel down safely either, considering the only way he knew how was with a concentrated blast of his sword or an even more erratically dangerous use of Kidō. either way, someone could easily die, and if that someone happened to be the one he would rescue, Kaiser would never let him hear the end of it. The way his mother would feel if he cause an accident on his _first mission..._

He didn't want to think about that just yet... or ever for that matter.

Tensa had yet to teach him how to use the shadows as portals, so that option was out of the question when the being was only supposed to keep him alive.

He was starting to regret the 'I don't even need a babysitter' comment by now

"Are you just going to stand there, Ichigo or are you going to complete your mission like you said?" The Quincy asked, not a hint of malice in his voice. Undoubtedly, the fact that he was so measured and evenhanded when he asked the question made it hurt just a little bit more. "Of course, I don't really mind if you take your time, a spirit like myself will continue to exist as long as you. No need to rush."

Really, at this point, there was only one option left to take.

"I have a plan, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Try me."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_I can't believe that worked. _Ichigo thought with a sigh as he sat up from the cold stone ground and gave a room a curious once-over.

The cell was quite simple, six walls of all the same drab granite surrounding him as he searched for any easy way out. The walls were thick, the room itself being excavated from hard bedrock while the door was made of reinforced steel from what he could gather. The interior of the room was bare, lacking absolutely anything to occupy him as light flowed in from the hole in the door, the only way any of the sentries could survey the cells. The closest one was just a few paces from the door if he could sense him correctly, listening intently for any sign of trouble, ready to alert the others.

He sighed once more as he thought about how he managed to get into that situation.

It wasn't that different from the rescue at Las Noches to be perfectly objective. There was a girl to be rescued from the middle of enemy territory and in the beginning, he had no idea how to find the place. The way he got in, in a roundabout manner of thinking, was pretty much the same; he found one who was, in this situation is still, a member of the organisation and let them lead the way.

Tensa was surprisingly supportive of the idea of getting captured, leaving the only problem being how they would gather the attention of the enemy.

Nothing a massive burst of lightning and reiatsu couldn't fix.

After which, it was only a matter of time before they came running in swarms to check on what the commotion was about. Knocking him out was Tensa's idea, before he supposedly fled to the shadows to watch the boy's progress from afar. As long as Ichigo didn't get himself in a life threatening situation, to observe was the role of Tensa.

The most efficient way to go about the mission was to simply run out that moment and hunt down his target manually. Distance was nothing to him after all, and if he could 'see' them then they were hopelessly open to any and all forms of his attacks, barring the ones that could cause large scale destruction of course. After that, it would be a simple matter to gather his target, literally blow the roof off the place and run out of there as fast as he could. But he wouldn't do that for several reasons, first of which would be the seal he _still had on his form_ after his training had commenced.

Powering through would be an option, but only after he had rescued his target from wherever she was, that just made finding her all the more difficult.

_You have got to be kidding me._ Ichigo thought as he stuck a finger in his ears to rub them clean. For a second, he thought he heard footsteps.

Then came the muffled screams.

It was a very slim chance, but it still existed, that the guards would prioritize cold efficiency rather than secure efficacy. To what he could tell after all, they thought he was a child, alone and unarmed, found in the middle of an electrical storm in the middle of a clear day while his target was a girl, most likely no older than himself. It stood to reason that their captors would think it better to lock them both in the same room and have a single guard watch over them instead of having two separate watches in possibly two separate locations.

Really, it made the logistics of the capture much easier.

What he was afraid of was the way they would treat her when moving her from her old prison to his current location.

He knew what expert torturers did to their victims, Aizen being no slouch in that regard. They would lash out at their captives, but instead of stinging pain, their weapon was a slow working poison that numbed the mind. A few words there, kind gestures here and seemingly impossible freedom would be given to the captive, but in truth the illusion would only serve to break whoever was in their clutches. Swift strikes were neglected, but a gentle hand was just as treacherous, becoming an inescapable shackle as time passed until such a time that the person would no longer want to be rescued.

It was completely reducing the will of an individual to nothing, keeping them perfectly intact while at the same time, claiming mastery over their very being.

But they were no masters of manipulation, he was dealing with the newest of the contingent, and arguably that was much worse considering the damage they caused.

They did not shy away from causing as much physical pain to the victim as possible, ranging from the moderately acceptable, to some fates far worse than death; including the original one. That sort of damage not only afflicts the body, but the mind and more often than not, the latter manifests after the victim has been returned to society. It was a form that was far from efficient, and yet terrible as the symptoms only manifest after the initial danger has passed. No longer to gain information, it was a method that made sure that the victim was broken, to be of use to no one after it has been done.

He could only grit his teeth as the door burst open, the light blinding him for a moment. It did not spare his ears from the tortured cries of a girl buried behind damp cloth as the faunus did what he willed and struck the girl once more. It took all his self control to keep himself still, he couldn't have his target afraid of him after he was done with the animal that acted no better than the beasts above them.

His eyes quickly took in the new amount of light as he froze, the alternative would be to leap at the man and tear his throat out with fury no better than the Hollow's, taking in a sight he would never want any to see. The man's hand was moving down as tears flowed uncontrollably from the girl's cheeks, all before it connected with soft flesh and sent the child hurtling towards the unforgiving ground.

He was afraid, he wouldn't lie, but not because he was a normal child. No, when the sound rivaling that of a bullet's death cry reached his ears, he was sure he would punch a hole straight through the man's chest. What the beast did next almost stopped the boy's heart as he felt his body begin burning, several seals struggling to rein in power that should not taste the air around them.

A gloved hand took a hold of a fistful of hair before he yanked, pulling the girl to her feet with a demonic sneer. "You know, if I couldn't barter you away, we would have so much... fun together." He all but whispered before releasing her, allowing the girl to fall gracelessly on her knees. She couldn't even narrow her eyes and glare in outrage as tears simply continued falling, striking the ground.

He turned his eyes to him and he knew, even behind the bone white mask, the beast's eyes were glimmering with excitement. "What do you want to do kid? Are you going to kill the big bad wolf?" He mocked with a smile, baring fangs that couldn't be anything but canine. "I'll even be a sport and give you the first hit, don't be shy! You want to save the little princess right? Come on, be a hero!"

Ichigo did not move, knowing that one false move and the girl was dead. He wasn't blind anymore, he could see _two_ holsters on the beast's sides. Two guns, two bullets ready to fly as soon as he moved, and even if the one meant for him would be nothing more than an inconvenience, the one that would strike the girl would be lethal. He would have his justice, but not now, not at such a price.

So he did nothing.

"Smarter than you look, kid." The beast said as he showed them his back. Ichigo wasn't fooled for a second, the man was still ready to strike just in case. "Maybe I wouldn't have to kill you after all." No further words were exchanged as he left, closing the door behind him and returning them in darkness. Ichigo thought the only time he took a breath was when the sound of the lock reached his ears.

He stood to his full height not a moment later and strolled towards the girl with bated breath. This had to be done properly if they would be emotionally stable enough to leave as planned. More than battle, he knew that for her to even be considered 'rescued' he needed to deal with her emotional baggage before they had a chance to escape. He'd rather not carry her like a piece of meat when she could easily do what little Nel did when he made that little mistake. He had been reminded that he wasn't Kisuke Urahara just yet, and a blow there was more than enough to floor him.

On that train of thought, he wasn't sure if he wanted to train hard enough to shrug off a full force blow to the groin.

He shook his head, he would think of such frivolities later, he had a little girl to attend to.

On closer inspection, she was quite beautiful for a child, having the noble features of an aristocrat even at such a young age. Her faced was marred only with the signs of lack of sleep and her eyes were red with tears that flowed down. But other than that, she was quite the looker, even someone like Ichigo acknowledged that. Her form was lithe and almost doll-like, not much muscle to speak of as if she did nothing but sit in a chair and watch time pass her by, while her clothes spoke of enough reason to be kidnapped. It wasn't too hard to put two and two together; the girl was a bargaining chip.

Even while they were so isolated from the capitals the politics of money still reached them.

_Oh, this couldn't get any worse._ Ichigo thought wearily as the girl turned to him, what appeared to be light blue in the dim light meeting golden amber in silence before he bent down. He wordlessly removed the gag she wore, hoping that such a gesture would at least elicit a bit of trust from his fellow captive.

If he didn't feel the air around her nose shift, he wouldn't have been fast enough to cover her mouth as she screamed. _And the next thing is..._ He thought tiredly, bracing himself for the incoming influx of pain before she bit down on as much of his palm as she could sink her teeth into. Make no mistake, it hurt more than it should have but between alerting the guards and some pain, he took the latter.

Confused orbs met arctic indifference as Ichigo spoke in a whisper. "You done?" She didn't even have the presence of mind to respond as he used his free hand to undo the ropes around her wrists. "If you can't see it already, I'm here to help you out. That being said, it would be much easier of you weren't trying to eat my hand." Almost embarrassed, she jumped back, spitting on the floor as he raised his eyebrow curiously, wiping her saliva of his hand with the hem of his robe.

"You aren't broken yet, good." He commented as he stood, making his way towards her and kneeling down before she could move to stand. "You shouldn't mess with strangers if you aren't prepared to pay for it. You alright?" He tried using a tone he always spoke in when talking to Karin or Yuzu when their mother was still alive, projecting the image of the caring brother to the lost little girl. Wiping her tears away was just an added bonus. He was out of practice, but it seemed to work anyway, seeing as she didn't flinch away from his touch or move to bite him again.

"I'm... better now." She replied weakly, a small smile on her lips as his hand left her cheek and lightly tousled her long hair. Her voice still trembled with fear, but there was a tinge of comfort there. She leaned into his touch, almost like a cat as he smiled. He knew she would need all the positive reinforcement she could get, as well as to be far away from the situation as possible before things fell apart.

The fact that she was being so... receptive of him when she lashed out not a minute ago just made him worry for her mental stability more.

"Alright then." He took his hand of her head. "I'm here to rescue you so I want you to go to that corner..." He was surprised to see her occupying his vision.

"No, you can't!" She shouted as loud as she dared, which was still pretty loud considering how thick the walls were. "They'll hurt you too if you try to get away. They just want to use me to get to daddy, and then they'll let us go. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me." She ended weakly, hands that once firmly grasped his arms loosening before falling away. "I can't even do that properly."

"Of course not." He said abruptly, drawing her sharp glare as he continued unperturbed. "You're just as kid too, right? I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of, getting caught in a situation like this. I don't like the situation anymore than you do, but doing nothing, waiting for someone else to come and rescue _me, _is something I won't put up with." He returned her look with understanding. "I don't like people getting hurt because of me either, but then that's why I want to grow stronger. I'll protect everyone close to me, no matter what happens. You're one of them too now, so don't worry too much."

He smiled, something unlike Narius' grins, something truly brilliant as the girl turned away. In the dark, even he couldn't see the slight red that colored her cheeks. He wasn't affected, rising to pat her head one last time before making his way to the door. "Just stay put for a while, I'm going to get us out of here before you know it." Seeing her nod once, he faced the door and closed his eyes.

He knocked on the steel door twice before he inhaled deeply.

The he struck with the strength of several full-grown men.

The reaction of the sentry was instantaneous, the white mote in his mind's eye moving towards the door cautiously before he undid the lock. There was a moment of silence before the boy took a step back, narrowly avoiding the edge of the steel door as it was violently kicked open. With a second step, he closed the distance and twisted with an outstretched leg, sending his foot hurtling against the man's groin.

_Strange._ The boy thought as the man took a step back and drew a blade. The smile on his face was far from friendly as the makings of a chuckle echoed from his throat. He noted the masked man was acting quite like Zangetsu... and would most likely suffer the same fate.

"Not going to work kid, the little princess over there already tried something like that a few days ago. I punished her a good bit too, so guess what? You're going to get it next." The man sneered from behind the mask as he drew a blade, bringing it close to his eyes just as the edge reflected a shaft of light. "Don't worry, kid, this is for your own good, so you don't get any more ideas."

"A cup?" Ichigo asked, his tone almost playful as he blurred out of sight. "Not a problem." A small fist sent the man hurtling out of the doorway and slamming into the wall before he could even scream, knocking him out with a single blow as the boy shook his fist. "You're not going to have kids any time soon, you asshole." He muttered viciously as he picked up the blade the man left on his 'flight' out.

Not even a second passed as he glanced at the man, and with a sigh, he released some of his reiastu, a nurturing green glow surrounding his form before disappearing just as quickly. With the man healed as much as he was able, which meant he wouldn't really die any time soon, he returned to the crimson blade in his hands, appraising it with the eyes of a warrior. He gave it a few test swings, inwardly complaining about it's lack of weight though its length was perfect for his current height, before looking back at the more than shocked girl behind him.

"Ready to get out of here, princess?" He asked with a small smirk before reaching out to her, a hand she gladly took before he led her outside...

...even as a blade came crashing down against his own. It was a simple matter to swat it away, simply shifting the point a little was enough to divert it away from them, even as he held the girl's hand. His own slash was already in motion before his opponent's blade struck the floor, the point hovering under the man's chin. A thrust would have been enough to end him. "I'll even give you a chance to run."

"Don't get to cocky, kid!" He followed with a vicious horizontal, twin red blades clashing as Ichigo countered full force, meeting the blow head on with nothing but confidence. The man was strong, maybe even stronger than Kaiser usually was before he went all out, but compared to the Hero of the Winter War, such feeble power meant nothing.

If anything, maybe he would have a little fun playing around before he handily won.

Three haphazard strikes flew, nigh simultaneously as the man jumped back before any could strike him too severely. Their eyes met for a moment as a warcry was sounded, the man approaching with a slash intent to cleave the boy from shoulder to waist, even as the boy sidestepped, together with the girl he held, to allow the blade to pass harmlessly before his eyes. A silent kick sent the blade aside, the hilt closing in to knock him off balance while another kick sent him back a few paces, winded but altogether unhurt.

The man was getting angry, just as the boy planed as the badly trained sentry came again with another overpowered swiped that held all his weight in strength. He didn't even give the man a second glance before he struck, sending the blade away, severing his foe's blade at the cost of his very own. There was no hesitation when he threw the broken hilt at the opponent, nailing him between the eyes.

"Just wait for a bit." He whispered reassuringly before he released the hand of a more than shocked girl and took a step forward. The man hadn't even opened his eyes when a small fist collided with his stomach and sent him hurtling down the corridor. Another step allowed him to close the distance before he took hold of the chest plate the stupid sentry wore and with almost minimal effort, he threw the body down with an audible crack.

It took a few moments to bring him back from death's clutches, but not enough that he would be conscious any time soon, before he returned to the girl's side. He frowned when he saw her expression, throwing whatever professional distance away by cupping her chin and gently closing her jaw for her.

"What, is there something on my face?" he asked, drawing on the innate innocence his childish voice held while a genuinely curious expression was plastered on his face.

"You... how... what..." She mumbled helplessly as she shifted her gaze from the man slumped against the wall and the one face down on the floor. Of course it would be a shock to see her captors, those who tormented her for who knows how long, on the floor, much less defeated by a boy that looked to be her own age. "That... looked... easy... Who the in the world are you?"

"I told you already, princess." He replied, almost playfully as he carefully eyed the rising and falling chests of the two he dealt with. "I was sent here to rescue you. Also, I thought that it was only proper that you introduce yourself first before asking a person for their names. Has being held up taken away all your manners, little girl?"

_Definitely a princess, that's for sure._ The orangette thought while he watched the girl blush, turning away in vain to hide the coloring of her cheeks as she softly berated herself on her lack of proper etiquette. He thought he heard something about, 'missing something so obvious it took being a dolt to a whole new level' before she turned back to her and pulled at the edges of her dirtied dress.

"My name is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." She spoke elegantly, managing to pull off a picture perfect curtsy despite the less than ideal circumstances. "I would like to offer my sincerest thanks for aiding in my rescue as well as apologies for any offence I might have caused you. May I ask for your name, good sir?" The image of a certain noble superimposed itself on the little girl as a dumbstruck Ichigo shook his head.

"You really did it." He said offhandedly before patting her head. "I was just messing with you princess, no need to go all snobby and sophisticated with me. You can just call me Noir then Weiss." He flowed with the joke perfectly, almost in awe of how a little girl could both be so formal and yet crack a joke at the same time. Humor was something of a coping mechanism, based on experience, he would often laughed the loudest when he felt the worst, and given the fact that no matter how bad the joke actually was the girl still had the nerve to crack one in the first place, spoke of her will.

But serious, who would name a _child_ 'White'. His Hollow didn't count, though at that moment, technically White was now Narius.

He wouldn't ruin her fun though, and 'Black' was close enough to his real name if you squint. Plus, he needed a codename that sounded like something Kaiser would use, just in case the Schnee's decided to investigate the rescue.

"Now, you wan't to get out of here or should we wait for more of them to come running at us?"

The radiant smile on her face told him everything he needed to know.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"You have a little sister?" Weiss asked tiredly as a soft yawn overtook her.

"Two of them actually." Ichigo smiled, keeping his pace as slow as possible as he continued walking. "Twin little sisters."

After finding the target, Weiss was still much too silly a name to be used seriously, it was a simple matter to escape the compound. There was no real reason to stay, much less a reason to fight now that he had what he came for, and so they made their escape as quickly as possible. Rather than steamrolling through any and all opposition they faced trying to get the hell out of dodge, Ichigo used his ability to sense everyone in the compound, effectively evading most of them as they made their way towards the surface.

The base was large after all, and seeing the amount of people who staffed it, it was some kind of a work in progress. That meant that the people there were incomplete, that they would were not enough to effectively cover the vast space that was the interior of the underground base, and that there were numerous devices scattered around the area for transportation. Knowing he couldn't just flash step with a girl in his arms, he decided to go and 'commandeer' what looked to be a motorcycle and make his way towards the main level of the compound.

The scroll he acquired from the second sentry was no small help either, containing a map of the entire area.

It was a silent run, from their cells, to a garage and the main 'lobby' of the building, the sheer size of the place simply raising their chances of getting away clean. In fact, the only other time they had to fight was when the reached the entrance, somewhere an entire mile from his original position on the surface, where at least five sentries stood watch at all times. Really, it wasn't even a warm up.

The area he was supposed to meet Tensa was quite a ways away, so not being able to utilize high speed movement in good conscious, he decided to walk with the girl. Of course, that inevitably led to some conversation, something he had not been able to participate in after quite some time. He was never good at talking in the first place, even before all the spiritual mess, always being much too blunt after his mother died the first time. It was good practice, being patient and actually conversing civilly, though it was probably the big brother part of him in effect.

_Definitely the big brother part._ He concluded, taking a quick glance at the exhausted girl he carried on his back. Let it not be said that he didn't learn, girls tended to act... frisky when they were carried like a sack of potatoes, Orihime being the sole exception, or too flustered when they were carried the movies and manga dubbed the "princess carry". He couldn't have that, not now at least.

"Can you tell me about them?" She asked curiously, though there was something in her voice that put him on edge. Longing?

"Where to start?" He felt a small smile forming as he thought back to his siblings, wondering if the two made it to this strange new world. "They're twins, but they couldn't be any more different from each other, from appearance to personality. Karin is always so serious, probably taking that attitude from me while Yuzu's the darling child of the house, never really hiding whatever she feels. Karin loves sports, acting more like a boy more often than not while Yuzu is more feminine, being the mother hen of the household and always taking care of the chores left to be done."

His eyes glazed over as he was overwhelmed with nostalgia, longing to go back to those simpler days. "But even if they're different, they always get along so well, balancing each other out when it counts and helping keep me grounded. Yuzu's always strong enough for all of us while Karin just tells me that no matter what happens, it's okay to feel. They're my precious sisters after all, and no matter what happens, I'll protect them from everything. That's why the older brother is born first after all, we're supposed to protect all the others that come after us. That's why I'm as strong as I am."

He looked over his shoulder to meet the gaze of the blue eyed princess. "You have any siblings?"

"I have a sister too." She replied after a moment of silence, though with the strange air around her, it would seem that she was hesitant to go any further.

"I'm assuming she's the reason you were in that situation in the first place." Ichigo noted the shift on his back. "Are you regretting it?"

"I don't know anymore." She sighed exasperatedly, he didn't need to turn to see her confusion when it was all over her voice. "We were close before, but as we grew up and more and more responsibilities came up, we sort of drifted apart. We don't even know who the heiress is anymore, and right now I don't really care! That stupid title for my sister? What dolt would make such an idiotic trade?"

He listened to her, ignoring the fist that hammered into his back as he walked in silence.

"We used to do everything together, just me and Winter. We didn't really care if mother and father were too busy for us, we had each other and for a pair of siblings, for a pair of children that was enough. We played, we laughed, we cried, we told secrets and we stayed up too much and got into trouble... together. It was always together. Then, everything changed." He thought he could feel warm droplets land on the back of his neck as her voice started to tremble. "I don't know why, but it's like we can't be siblings anymore. Our family is being torn apart and I don't even know why!"

"Mother is distant half the time and ruthless the next. Father's always angry, sometimes too angry to deal with anyone that he just runs into the fight room. And Winter... Winter's just cold now. Then it happened." She made the feared transition form angry, to grief-stricken, to lifeless monotony. "It was just another day as usual when someone managed to get past the guards and into the house. Mother and Father were at work, and Winter was locked in her room as usual when the came for us, about half a dozen masked men armed to the teeth. I couldn't even take one of them down, but I managed to at least stall them long enough to get Winter out of there. I didn't even care anymore when I woke up here, my life was ruined the moment everything changed for the worse..."

"Then why didn't you give up?" His voice cut her off, gently pulling her from the brink with a simple question. She was following a dangerous train of thought, one that would only lead into a downward spiral until she fell into a pit she could never crawl back up from. He knew that place, knew it far too well as he spent a good portion of his life down there, every day on the death anniversary of his mother.

The day he finally saw the light, it was his father of all people who pulled him out of his slump. It was that day he first entertained the thought that somehow, someway, his father knew that he had spiritual powers. _If I were to blame Masaki's death on you, Masaki would get mad at me. It's not anyone's fault that Masaki died._ His father told him that day the rain just didn't want to stop, smoking a single cigarette in front of his mother's grave._ It's just that, the woman I fell in love with was a woman who could die protecting her son. And don't forget, you are the guy the woman that I loved gave her life to protect. _After he heard those words, he knew that he needed to put his grief away if he ever wanted to protect anything. Not necessarily get rid of the memory, but look on the brighter side.

It was only right that he did the same for this little girl.

Her silence only signaled him to continue, saying words that would forever change her. "From what you tell me, from what you did in there, it looks to me that you never did give up. You still kept going, trying to fight in any way you could no matter how bleak the situation looked. The sentries were issued cups after all, they wouldn't be wearing those if they were sure you wouldn't put up some form of a fight. What you need to discover for yourself is why you fought so hard, though I think you already know the answer to that question."

"A Schnee never runs from a fight." She said with a hint of pride, before relaxing slightly, her shifting mindset slowly taking its toll. "And... I guess I just couldn't give up on them. I don't know, they're..."

"Your family." The boy finished for her as he stopped for a moment, relishing the stillness that came with it. He would fix things; the girl would be the first thing, outside his immediate family, he truly protected since coming into the new world. If he couldn't do something as simple as reassure a little girl, he didn't have the right to be called a Protector, or an older brother. "I can't pretend to know what happens in your family. I can't claim to understand what you're going through when I don't even know who you are, but I do know that a girl who's given up wouldn't fight back.

"A girl who gave up would never try and stop a person form trying to rescue her because she was afraid that the boy who came was too weak to do it. A girl who didn't care would never have talked to a boy she didn't know, no matter what the situation was. A girl who was too weak to protect anything would never have told me her life story, even if I didn't ask for it." There was a light smile on his face, removing any venom his words had. "But that's not you, is it? No. You're what? Eight, nine years old, and you protected your sister from being kidnapped. You went through who knows what, not unscathed, but still alive. You're worried, you're scared, and you're unsure, but that's normal. You're still human after all, the pain, the uncertainty will always be there no matter what happens."

"But what's important is what you do from there. If you want to sit there, watch the world pass from your personal pit of despair, then that's fine with me. I'm a stranger who knows nothing after all, but there are people who love you who would hate it if you just gave up like that. People who think of you as their precious person are out there and if only for their sake, you should stand up and return to them, the same strong girl who used herself a distraction just so her sister would be saved. Don't give up on your family, Weiss, because they'll never give up on you either."

"But how do you know that?" She demanded childishly, using all the strength she could muster to raise her voice in frustration. "You don't even know me, how can you be so sure?" the shout became a whimper as the drops returned, striking his nape with all the strength of a drop of rain, and much more besides. The next words he said would stop the rain, not just for him, but for the girl on his back.

"They sent me after you, didn't they?"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"I'm so proud of my little boy~!"

"MOM, PLEASE NOT IN FRONT OF THE CROSSDRESSER!"

Aki, being the doting mother she was, simply continued to twirl with her nine year old son in her arms, regardless of who might have been watching.

Those included in that list were Narius, Zangestu, Brennan, and Kaiser, the last one shamelessly holding a camera and recording the entire scene.

They just finished the debriefing, it was more Tensa critiquing Ichigo's performance more than anything, so of course the mother glomped her child the moment the most senior Hunter in the room was satisfied. She couldn't have been more proud; her son successfully accomplished his first mission, and with the tale he told, he saved a little girl in more ways than one.

She was the one who pushed him to take it in the first place, even more than Brennan, Zangetsu, and Narius dared. Part of it stemmed from the fact that she knew she was holding him back, in need of instruction just as he was, but more than that, she could feel his pain. As much as she wanted to think he recovered, as much as it looked like he did move on from his previous life and all the loss he held to his heart, there was a part of the hopeless boy that always surfaced whenever he slept. Every night, she would see the boy toss and turn, whimpering names she never knew until she settled him down.

As it turned out, he sleepwalked, always to her bed in the dead of night, always in doubt that she was in fact real and alive. He still couldn't trust that she was here and everything was alright. Part of him would always remember failing her, it would always remember the child who lured his mother to her death. The only reason he never caught wind of it was the fact that she would carry him back before first light, just so he would think nothing was amiss.

She knew she couldn't fix him, not alone, she already tried that and it has help him a long way, but he still hadn't fully recovered. Taking back his power, and gaining even more seemed to give him more reason to subconsciously fear for her, not that he would ever acknowledge such a thing of course, since now he was the most dangerous thing close to her at all times. So she thought, if he could protect something with his own two hands, if he could prove to himself that his power could be used to help others instead of simply destroy indiscriminately, then he could take a step closer to healing.

It took a while of convincing, but eventually, even Kaiser and Brennan agreed, the first supplying a simple rescue mission while the second accepting the task of observing the boy from afar and refraining from interfering unless true mortal danger showed itself. Allowing him and the victim, a girl if Kaiser was intent on giving her son a rescue mission, some time alone to talk was just a bonus, precisely because the victim would most likely be his own age. At the end of the child's tale of frustrating base finding, using one of the oldest tricks in the book, and reassuring a little girl, she couldn't be happier.

In fact, there seemed to be a small smile on his face when he finished the tale, as well as an even wider one while she held him to her chest, even if he was being embarrassed in front of his peers.

"So, did you get the little girl's name?" Aki asked curiously falling back on the couch as the substitute Huntsman, she still wasn't sure why Kaiser and the other three were intent on calling him that, leaned into her chest. She was curious of course, it wasn't every day that your son goes out, saves a little girl, and for some strange reason remains extremely secretive about it.

When listening in on the debriefing, she noticed that her child not once mentioned the girl's name, simply the fact that she was a little girl probably his age if he could gauge her appearance correctly. After that point, he simply referred to her as 'her' or 'she' up until the end of the narrative. Even as he handed her over to Kaiser and Brennan for the final exchange, to fully sell the ruse that it was Kaiser, a trained Huntsman who rescued the child and not a nine year old boy, it was agreed upon that the two would be handling the hand-off, all he said was "take care of her."

She would never tell him, but the way his small smile changed into a confused scowl, looking more like a pout, was incredibly cute. "Not really. I don't know if she was just that scared, but she never told me her real name. I don't really blame here that much, Narius made up a name in the fly, Brennan's real name is Tensa when he was still hiding from us and Tessai, and it would be weird if he changed his name in the middle of it. Kaiser's real name is Kaizō, and he only uses it because Brennan told him to. It's really nothing new, I didn't give her my real name either so no harm done."

She understood that her son was different, that because of a certain set of circumstances, he had a much higher maturity level. There was something wrong with that situation, there was just no reason for the other girl to have the same. "Okay then, could you tell me what she told you her name was?"

His pout just deepened, his eyebrow furrowed in frustration. "That's just it, it was so fake that even I could see through it. She said her name was Weiss, Weiss Schnee. Can you believe that?" He turned to his observer, neglecting to notice the strange disturbed look on Kaiser's face. "'Snow White', really? Who would name a kid after a fairy tale princess, when even Kon said that she was actually a princess? She couldn't even pronounce it properly! It's Weiß not Weiss! Who would believe something as badly thought of as that?"

"Um, son..." Aki looked at her boy the way a mother would when her child said something as silly as 'I can talk to animals' or 'I can go_ whoosh_ really fast'. It's important to note that Ichigo could actually do those things, but the point was he most definitely made a mistake somewhere along those lines. "You haven't been paying too much attention to current events, have you?"

"I have too much training, mom." The boy waved it off as he sat up from her lap, taking a seat beside her before pointing at his slavedri-teachers. "It's all their fault I don't have time for studies anyway."

"The reasons for your lack of education aside, there really is someone named Weiss Schnee." The mother explained patiently, before smiling brightly at the Huntsman before her. "In fact, if I'm not mistaken, recently one of the daughters of the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, one of the largest manufacturers of energy propellant in the world, was kidnapped by the White Fang."

Even her child shivered at the sudden change in temperature brought about by that smile. "This wouldn't happen to be the mission you gave my son, Kaiser, right?"

"Wait a minute..." She turned to her son, noticing the sigh of the Huntsman before she sent him a look that pointedly promised a long scolding from her later. "That was her real name?"

"You sound surprised." Zangetsu managed with a chuckle, a fierce mocking smile replacing the maniac grin on his lips. "Coming from a boy named 'Strawberry', that doesn't really mean much."

"It's 'One who Protects', not everyone could have a name like yours!" The boy argued, wisely choosing to stick out his tongue like the child he was rather than come out with blades at the ready.

"Calm down children." Brennan quickly intervened, laying a glowing hand of Zangetsu's shoulder, silencing him, before turning to Ichigo. "You have a bit of my knowledge about the world in general, Ichigo, but that is of the world that passed. German, Japanese, Spanish, and even other languages here may seem similar to those of ours but that doesn't mean it's intrinsically the same. You forget that this is a new world, and that something here would not hold the same meaning as something from our original world. You will be receiving more knowledge as you train, but be mindful of the differences."

The boy nodded once before his eyes widened, Aki simply patting him on the head to ask him about it. "What was the name you gave her then?"

"About that, since I thought she said her name was Weiss, and I didn't think she was telling me here real name, I played along." He scratched his head in embarrassment as he suddenly found the floor very interesting. "Noir."

"You said you were 'Black'? I'm calling it right now, you two are perfect for each other!" Zangetsu guffawed violently, hitting the floor even as Brennan was absorbing his strength, a method to keep him less... rambunctious. If Aki was correct, such a method also made him stronger, something about increasing his aura's rate of production or other, and it seemed to be working. "I can see it now, 'Black' and 'White' the Ice Princess and the Dark Hero all over again! Tell me, is she noble or something, something like a tsundere? Maybe has an overprotective older brother?"

"We were never like that!" Ichigo screamed, ready to fire off Kidō at a second's notice.

"Nee-san and this idiot never felt that way about each other!" Kaiser agreed, actually kicking the Hollow in the stomach... though it did nothing to stop him from laughing.

"When did you have time to read so much manga?" Narius asked innocently, nothing but pure curiosity in his voice.

Aki was much less than amused. "Ichi-kun." Everything suddenly stopped as she spoke that one word, _all_ of them noting the fact that _no one_ taught her that honorific. "You had a girlfriend before?"

"Okaa-san." Ichigo shivered visibly under his mother's gaze, no doubt choosing his next words very carefully. "I swear on my soul, on the lives of these idiots here, that it was never like that..."

Of course, his words never reached her.

"Well, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later." Aki sighed tiredly before facing the other occupants in the room. "You gentlemen can stay or leave if you want to, I'm sure you heard this one at least once before."

She the sat up, set her son on her lap before leaning back down on the couch, every so often running her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "Now Ichigo." She began, her tone formal, instructive and nurturing while her smile was lost all it's icy strength and brought back nothing but motherly warmth. "When a boy and a girl like each other very much..."

Needless to say, only the boy and his mother remained in the room.

* * *

**AN**

**And, that's another chapter for the books. This is somewhat early, given my new update schedule. I promise to go back to weekly updates, but only as soon as my finals and other school duties finish. Really, as much as I want to write, it's very cathartic I encourage everyone to try it, I also need to pass subjects, attend classes and other stuff.**

**Really tireing as it is.**

**Back to reviews, sorry about last time so here are all of them I think I missed.**

** Frai and Kragh: Thanks for the support guys, and I am very sorry it all seems confusing. My writing style prefers starting from the middle, then back to the beginning then finishing at the end and sometimes even I get lost. I only ask for some patience to read it twice and I'm sure you two would get it.**

**Though this part goes for everyone as well, Please don't hesitate to PM me for the story or just to start a conversation. I'll reply as soon as I can to settle the confusion(as long as it doesn't spoil much in the long run. XD ) **

**Gates: Glad you enjoyed those parts, yes the new world is now remnant, though that's just for the human world. There is a possibility that Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, the Dangai and any other canon/filler dimensions survived. I'm not confirming or denying anything in that regard. **

**Guest(/s if your not the same person all throughout): On almightly and making Knights, I'm not so sure how to handle those yet considering that they basically take the plot and throw it down the drain. In this particular chapter, I had almost no idea on how to limit Ichigo when he was already as strong as he was, so I'd have to think about that. On the subject of Narius, again, not confirming or denying anything since Fullbring was also technically an armor. **

**On another note, it said on the wiki(Bad source but one of the most extensive list of sources) I also checked the databook that Ichigo really does have _GOLDEN_ reiatsu naturally. Which means that the anime changed the white stuff we see flying around the area from gold to blue, hinting at Ichigo's Quincy heritage. On what he _really_ is, you (or you guys) would have to stick around until we get to... probably second season canon.**

**Luke: A harem, maybe, really wondering on how the romance should develop, if it would even develop in the first place. Tag is general for a reason so I will sleep on that for one... or five chapters. On a fem Jaune and Ren, the former takes away too much story, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how I would replace the missing story of the lovable knight and his OP spartan love interest. Ren is definitely doable, but IF Jaune stays a guy, I'm keeping Ren as a Guy for balancing purposes. There are two balanced teams in canon, (CFVY, JNPR, GOOP if you count it) and two pure gender teams (CRDL RWBY) so since Ichigo would have a team too, i don't know whether to shift the balance or not**

**We'll see :)**

**All who reviewed, added to thier respective lists, Thank you for the support. I don't know if I would stop writing without you guys, but I would definitely stop posting if it wasn't for all of you and your support.**

**On the current chapter, we meet (the title said it all so it was only a surprise if you're what? three?) the Ice Princess. Shameless shiptease both with OG Bleach Ice Princess and RWBY resident W and some story. Action scenes, well I'm trying to stay away from those until Ichigo get's full control and we can really show the people what he's got. I'm not sure if Winter is a Twin, an Elder or Younger so I made that ambiguous on purpose. **

**I hope everyone enjoyed the plot dev, and this gives me so much freedom on what horrible fate Weiss suffers to change her from an adrokable little white Ruby to the Ice Queen of Beacon. *Evil Laugh***

**Who will the next canon character be, find out next time!**

**This has been Proccit, a day early after being a week late! **

**Bye Bye :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Cut the Strings**

* * *

"Are you sure that this is the right time to do something like this?" A voice, filled to the brim with unbridled disbelief asked as hidden eyes took in the scene.

It was day time, the sun shining brightly from on high, the sky a happy azure as no cloud held a place beside heavens gleaming eye. It wasn't early by any measure, though not late either; being in the exact center of morning and evening. In the short, not exactly as confusing version of it, it was noon, but not just any noon. It was High Noon, when the clock struck twelve and instead of insipid darkness, the area was bathed in blistering heavenly light.

The heat did very little though, considering the area they were observed. In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that the heat was more of an aid than anything, Atlas' climate being more... unforgiving when compared to the rest of the kingdoms. The humidity of the forests of Vale, and the sheer heat of the deserts of Vacuo were quite inhospitable by themselves, yet there was a primal fear inspired by the cold that Atlas was famous for. It was inhuman, the total lack of warmth that creatures needed to live.

It was there that four figures, clad in cloaks of black against the white of the snow, stared at a building in the middle of nowhere.

The building itself was massive, the entirety of whatever facility lay within to protect it from the bite of the cold, and of course, heavily guarded. Even against the white snow, the gleam of metal shined together with the black of visors, revealing each and every one of the androids that guarded the perimeter of the facility. Larger prototypes loomed over the veritable army below them, giant humanoid battle suits standing guard at key positions while hidden turrets could barely be spied against the seamless camouflage the massive while building and the snowstorm provided.

"When else do we attack it then, other than in broad daylight?" Another, far more jovial answered, one not needing to peer under the hood to imagine a grin spanning from ear to ear.

"Um, at night maybe, you know, when there are less guards present?"A third, distinctly feminine voice interjected before a groan escaped her lips, only light laughter emanating from the second.

"I thought you liked a challenge?" The second retorted coyly, the tone of superiority never leaving his voice.

"And I thought you were a little bit smarter than this." She retorted, little to no venom in her words before a quite sigh formed a bleary cloud of mist in the harsh arctic air. "Alright, let's see just how far these little boys have gone in the last few years." She chuckled softly before her form vanished from sight, a strange occurrence since the stark white snow provided no shadow for her to hide in.

"She still hasn't lost touch it seems." The first mumbled helplessly as his hood shifted, the shadow once more facing the building instead of his companions. "So, if we're going on an all-out-assault, what's the plan?" Silence. "We're taking this thing and burning it to the ground, I get that, but what for, and if we're just going for absolute destruction, why did you send the witch in the first place?"

"It's to see just how far they've gotten, and to make sure that they never reach their goal in the first place." The second stated simply, no trace of emotion, whether joyous or sorrowful, lining his voice. The apathy spoke volumes, further highlighting the gravity of the situation. "There was a reason that line of research was scrapped in the first place, and a reason it remained a secret until now."

"It should be much easier to dismantle the facility, but if that was your goal, then even I would be enough." The first stated in agreement before mild curiosity wormed its way into his voice. "You don't plan to simply destroy the place, or send a message, do you? It's something bigger. You want to make sure that even if they want to, they can never attempt to do something like this again."

"Yes, I plan on destroying any and every peace of information they have on this little project." The second admitted grimly before turning to the facility as well. "This... experiment was a mistake the first time around, and yes, it's intentions were noble, but the end does not justify the means. Nothing was released to the public for a reason, and if anyone catches wind of something like this, then even the Great War wouldn't be able to compare to the fallout that would follow. The mere thought of this restarting is haunting, and as one of the first scientists on the team, I pray you don't get the details."

The first shrugged. "I stayed on the front lines as soon as I left the academy, never really one to enjoy the subtle pursuit of knowledge. If you say it's just that bad then I'll take your word for it."

"She's back." The fourth said simply, remaining silent all throughout the discussion, only speaking when a characteristic glow painted the snow around them.

"The mainframe is somewhere in the basement, and is quite extensive on it's own." She began, referring to the second with a shift of her hood. "You're guess seems to be correct, they keep all the data here so destroying everything should set them back quite a long time. Still it's not a sound assumption, they may easily keep several pockets of data elsewhere, just in case something like this happens."

"They won't." The fourth spoke once more, his voice a calculated tone that betrayed nothing. "This is a time of peace, and at this point the only threat they perceive would be the White Fang, and they're as civil as we are, even more civil than some in the SDC. They wouldn't need to implement such a contingency of the self proclaimed 'strongest military' wants to keep its image."

"I guess we should begin then." The second spoke, an almost confident, chipper tone coloring his voice as a single gloved hand stretched towards the building. "On you're mark."

"We're going to burn this thing to the ground." The first proclaimed with all the might and authority that came with his station as the destroyer of monsters. "We exist to fight the darkness, bring light..."

Power filled the air; invisible strength that hid from the eyes but could never hide for the senses of those in power, rolling off the four figures in waves until even the harsh hail turned away from them. It started as mist, light heat against the absolute cold that surrounded them, but it grew. First as fog, then the heated cloud began consuming the ice around it, from the snow dancing in the frigid air to the frost and rime that clung to the ground. In moments, the small perch they occupied was free of Winter's grasp, even as dense heavy air clung around them like a cloak.

Then came the spark.

"...And cleansing fire."

At the heart of the tundra, a blizzard raged. A moment later, ice was consumed, and the blizzard gave way as a firestorm was born.

For all of history, that moment would be known as the day Atlas was made to kneel once more.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Why are we here again?" Ichigo asked with a yawn as he walked, staying exactly two paces behind Kaiser as they navigated the quaint little town they found. It's name eluded him, which was something he couldn't bring himself to really care about when he didn't know the town he lived in. What did rouse his curiously was the reason they were there, considering the strange morning.

Make no mistake, any morning with Zangetsu was strange, it was just that this time, Kaiser was the reason for all the fuss.

He wasn't exactly lucid yet when it happened, so all he could remember was being tied up and watching the village, and his mother waving enthusiastically, fading in the distance. It seemed that the other three decided it was best to stay home, knowing that Ichigo still didn't forgive him for the Talk incident, and that only left him and Kaiser, alone, in the middle of the forest with no outside interference.

Half-asleep or not, he would be an idiot to let such a golden opportunity pass. Of course, he didn't count on receiving a generous amount of "energy" as soon as he got in striking range.

He had heard stories of the dreaded weapon, the enemy of all who dared approach, but he never really paid those warnings any heed. He was the Hero of the Winter War after all, with all the power that came with it and more in spades. When he swung his sword, or at least when he neglected to hold back, the landscape itself shifted in accordance to his power. When he needed to be somewhere, vast distances would be crossed in an instant. He should not have feared the weapon Keigo had cringed at the sound of.

Oh how wrong he was for underestimating the Taser, especially one specifically designed to take out someone with as much reiatsu as he did.

That was the reason for the two pace gap between them, just in case that madman would attempt another swing while he wasn't looking. It seemed he found another reason to hate the cross-dressing modsoul. As if the blow... the low blow wasn't enough, he was being especially annoying that day, avoiding any conversation and literally swinging his weapon every chance he got. It was almost like...

"Oi, Cross dresser are you drunk or something?" He asked with a smile before jumping once, narrowly avoiding the charged electrode that made a beeline for his chest, for the fifth time that day. It was almost like clockwork at that point, as soon as he annoyed Kaiser enough, he could lash out and Ichigo would avoid. It would only be a single strike, before the Huntsman calmed down, wore a mask of apathy and continued on in silence. Really, it was annoying, especially because the bastard still hadn't told him why exactly he was being dragged around in the first place.

"Are you done acting like a child?" The older Huntsman looked down on the child, who happened to bump into him as soon as he stopped walking. Amber met brown defiantly as they began their litter showdown, two unrelenting forces clashing for but a moment in a contest of resolve before it was the boy who looked away. "I'm a Huntsman remember? Not everything I say can be heard by just anybody."

"Mom's technically a Huntress too, idiot and if you even think of trying to spare me, or any of the others, from some little monster gore than I suggest you stop holding your breath." The child argued, perfectly blending cold logic and wild aggression. It seemed spending time with both Zangestu and Brennan was starting to show. "We were warriors even before you joined the fray, Kon, so I suggest you tell me everything before I rip that little green pill out of you."

"You haven't even learned that yet." Kaiser quipped easily, only to be floored as soon as the pressure in the isolated alleyway skyrocketed.

"I said try, remember?" The smile on the boy's face was vicious, the image of the Hollow superimposing on the childish visage as the pressure receded, allowing the Huntsman to stand.

"Fine, you asked for it." The child rolled his eyes before Kaiser's glare vanished, leaving not a trace of emotion. "They're trying again."

"Trying what again exactly?" The boy asked impatiently, seriously thinking about trying out a new technique he learned from the Quincy's manifestation of his power. As the King of the Quincy, he had the ability to distribute his soul, his powers and his knowledge, as well as take it back at his leisure. In the old war, he saw just how devastating an ability like that was, as well as the tactical advantage it allowed. That wasn't why he intended to use it though, no he wanted to see just how _painful_ it was to _rip knowledge out of the target's head._

It was lethal in most cases since to modify a soul was not something a being could survive unless it could be done naturally. Examples of those were, strangely enough, Hollowification, and the process that involved ripping off a Hollow's mask. Natural Arrancar exist in Hueco Mundo, a prime example of that would be the number one Espada, though of the Visored, one only needed to think that if one was a natural process than so should be the reverse.

They knew, Urahara, Ishida, as well as his own mother and father, that the method they used to prolong his mother's life was just that; a method of extension. It wouldn't save her, at least not really, it was just a measure taken to delay the inevitable, to make sure she lived a normal human life at the cost of his father not being able to use his Shinigami Powers as long as she still lived. Even if Grand Fisher didn't take her life, she would die. One way or another, one day, she would die and they would endure thanks to the blood they were born from.

Kaiser was a modified soul by nature, so he was a little curious if it could have worked without killing him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he never had a chance to try.

"To make me."

The boy almost swore out loud, only managing to keep it under his breath at the last moment.

The creation of modified souls stemmed from the work done by the Grain King, Hikifune Kiriko, but even then it wasn't as twisted as it turned out to be. She devised a method of strengthening Shinigami by infusing their bodies with the reiastu of another. She discovered how to use an artificial soul to serve as a way to further hide the supernatural world from sensitive, very easy to scare, humans. It would not do to have several bodies scattered across the city whenever a Hollow appeared.

Still, it was better than the alternative; only sending Shinigami that could eliminate hollows in a single blow. The problem of collateral damage would prove to be even worse, not to mention the fact that the only dead bodies that would be lying around after would be real dead humans instead of replaceable gigai. That was supposed to be the end of her invention, training aid and field supplement.

Never was it meant to be weaponized.

It was a moment of weakness, but that weakness spawned an abomination of an idea; to recycle human bodies together with human souls.

Project Spearhead, an apt name for such a cutting edge experiment, and even without the help of Soul Society's two greatest inventors, it worked.

The godforsaken idea worked.

They created a being that could be inserted into any random body, be it a suit of armor or a plush toy, and it would work. The soul would inhabit whatever body it was given, and with it, fight until it's inevitable destruction. It was an ultimate weapon, in theory, but it was too easy to watch theory slowly become reality. It was something that would allow Soul Society some respite, as well as an immortal army to command at a whim. It was said that if they had something like that during the war against the Quincy then it would be no question who would be victorious.

They fought the Sternritter and emerged victorious after all, how much more when they managed to synthesize one of the enemy's most fearsome abilities.

It was practically the "Zombie"

It was scrapped for the very reason. They covered it up, they said it was an ethical issue, and it was, but more than that, the potential was just too much. It's inventor didn't put the idea out there for a reason after all. It was hers, and just like the Phoenix King, the God of the Sword, knew all his blades by heart, she knew everything her invention could achieve. Cloning captains was an easy task, combining their abilities just a little bit more difficult. With some effort, it would be possible to make an army of clones of the Captain Commander in his his prime, all at the command of whoever was mad enough to go that far with her invention.

But more than that threat, it was something gained after imitating the Quincy. It wasn't just the shameful in that regard, they knew the truth. The Emperor lived, and controlling such an invention, especially because it was made from his ability, would be all to easy. They would be arming themselves, for the moment, but as soon as he rose, then the modified souls could be turned against them.

If he took control of Kon at the right time during the war then it would have been handily won. It was fortunate indeed that he was so secure in his power that he didn't expand on it too much.

Assassination, subterfuge, disinformation, they could have unraveled Soul Society before the war even began.

All those things he knew, and still he couldn't utter a word at the revelation.

He could already see how they would react.

Zangetsu, Tensa, Narius would all scorn such an abomination, no matter how easy it would be to take advantage of. The end was wonderful, the end of humanity on the battlefield, but to get there, one would need to experiment on the human soul. None of them, the Demon, the Tyrant King, and the Unknown, none of them would be willing to pay so high a price to reach that end.

Those who began the research were more than ready.

The four would get the location, or locations if the bastards were prepared, and if Zangestu had anything to say about the scientists taking part in it, there would be no one left alive. This would be one of the rare times no one would make a move to stop the Hollow's rage. They would bathe themselves in blood, willingly, to make sure that no one needed to be sacrificed, to ensure that not a soul was destroyed for man to be able to synthesize what made them different from the very beasts they hunted.

Ichigo himself would be willing to unleash the full force of his newfound power against those... monsters in human flesh

He didn't want to think about it, but his mother would be more than ready to lead the charge.

"Now you know why I only brought you?" Kaiser turned, walking out of the alley while Ichigo followed, still two paces behind.

"Good call." He replied, still mentally reeling from the revelation. "They would have beaten the location out of you and trashed it themselves."

"They wouldn't have needed to, Brennan has markers all over the capitals." Kaiser continued with a low mutter, pulling the boy to his side so he could still be heard. "At your command, he would be in any major source of information, and he would obliterate anything regarding the project, whether it be the people themselves to the data they had been working on. It would cause an international incident, not only in terms of the power needed to hack any of the Data Towers and lay waste to supposed government facilities, but because of the morality code it breaks."

"Monsters to fight monsters." Ichigo agreed with a nod before pulling on the man's coat. "So what are we here for? Are we going to break in and trash the place ourselves?"

He was never so disappointing in seeing the reformed pervert look so frustrated before.

"That's just it, we don't need to. Someone else beat us to it, the facility's been annihilated." Kaiser shook his head at the mess they found themselves in. "We're isolated as it is, information is only gained after a substantial amount of time passed, shortest being a week while longest would be years. With the severity of the situation, I'm surprised that I even got some of the data regarding the incident."

"So other people already know about it?" He demanded, glaring at the hand that managed to intercept the string of curses. "How much was leaked?"

"Not exactly, I recognized some of the equipment that was left in the wreckage." Kaiser scowled as the boy rolled his eyes. "What? I know the pieces of trash that made me, don't you remember your parents?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "Too soon, got it. Anyway, the reason we're here is to find out more on the ones who trashed the place before we could. Too much is unknown about them."

He understood their distress, having caused something similar in the past.

Soul Society didn't like having it's problems solved for them, especially when it was an outside party that ended up taking care of the mess. No only were those messes close to full scale wars and revolutions, but the very idea that there was another powerful party out there was enough to send chills down their spines. Being indebted to a group that rivaled them in terms of pure destructive power was a very big problem indeed, when those groups were led by omnicidal maniacs or would be gods.

He had been on their side the entire time, and it took several personal sacrifices on his part to convince them that he wasn't _hostile._ That's right, the organisation as a whole, though they were indebted to him, would not take the risk and treat him like an equal, simply a temporary ally that could be taken advantage of.

It was probably similar here, the Hunters didn't like other people solving problems for them when they were supposed to be the bets problem solvers in the world. Having someone upstage them was not as humiliating as it was frightening when the interfering party had some ulterior motive. For all they knew, they needed an excuse to test a weapon of mass destruction and so they looked for the most acceptable target. That target just happened to be the sight of so many imagined atrocities since the world's version of science had come to light.

What would be more poetically just than cleansing a facility that advocated human experimentation in a bath of fire?

If it was a weapon, then it worked.

It worked brilliantly.

"I'm assuming you have friends in this town then?" Ichigo shook his head, his foot tapping impatiently as the remnants of Kido began dancing between his fingertips. "When do we meet them then?"

For some reason, Kaiser's head started to itch.

"Yeah... about that." The Huntsman suddenly had trouble forming words when the boy sent him a withering glare.

"Kaiser, what aren't you telling me?"

"Well, I don't think they'll talk if the picture of a nine year old boy was in the room."

"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Somewhere, buried under the outrage, worry festered. He felt that he would regret having such a question answered.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

He was left alone to think.

Moments like these were rare, incredibly so, considering everything he went through, everything he still goes through, despite having the body of a nine year old child. He was trained to be a master of the Shinigami equivalent of magic, ready to hurl bolts of power and bend the elements at a moment's notice and posses enough control to limit the destruction as well as destroy targets absolutely.

He was forced to master the sword, never mind his swords, to wield them like extensions of his very soul in battles he was far too young to participate in. He trained to slay monsters, and not just the monsters that rose from the darkness and threatened humanity with fang and claw, but the monsters inside humanity, those who were corrupt and evil and yet lived within the system.

If he had time, that was a really big if, he would learn of the world, of its history and intricacies. He would learn of Dust and it's technology, from how it harms to how it heals. He would see how cities were built, more often than not in a span of months, being spurned on by the sheer will to survive, to retreat and find refuge from the monsters of the outside. He would see how those same cities fell, like civilization after civilization, darkness from the inside crushing them in tandem with the endless assault from the outside. It was an endless cycle, the history of this place, a testament to human folly.

And if he still had to time to spare, he would speak to his spirits. Learning from them in battle was the way they imparted their powers, but to learn of their true natures, he would have to spend time with them. It was something like Jinzen, but in the end he wasn't just sitting with his sword beside him, he was speaking to them, really establishing a connection with them as they dwelt in the real world instead of his inner world. With Tensa, he would stare into the endless horizon, content with listening to the old man's ramblings, while Zangestu would complain on and on about their situation.

Narius was the strangest, almost brotherly in his speech and gentle whenever they met for the sparse sessions. It was like talking to a therapist more often than not, mostly him doing the talking while the spirit listened when it was supposed to be the other way around. Whenever he would force the issue, the unknown would simply say that he needed more time to take in his true nature, and that the boy should know himself before he was ready to listen to what the blond-haired man had to say.

What worried Ichigo most was that, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, the spirit was right.

He did have more on his plate, more than what a boy his age, despite his true age, should ever have to deal with. What made it worse was that he recognized them, he recognized those problems.

There was a reason no one left him enough time alone with his thoughts; more often than not, he tended to walk down the road until the spiral staircase downwards into despair was too much that he forgot the light above. For some weird reason, he managed to do everything in excess, from protecting, to fighting, and unfortunately, worrying.

They kept him busy for that very reason; he always managed to end up sulking like a child whenever he dwelt too much on a single thought, a single memory, a single failure. His spirits would never stress enough that he needed to let go, to move on and stop being dragged back to that same spot where all he would do was weep in the rain that would inevitably for. The distractions helped a lot, but no matter what happened, his mother's presence or not, he could never release his failures and throw them into the oblivion where they belonged.

No matter what anyone would say, Kurosaki Ichigo was no idiot. He was distracted, sure, but then again he fought battles, he went to other worlds, he did the impossible...

While still having enough brain power to pass high school despite all the missed work.

He just simply could not stop going back.

When he thought about something, he thought about something. Obvious as it was, it was a skill more suited to his normal teenage self rather than the extremely powerful Shinigami. It was only in times of peace that he really did think hard, and when he thought hard on something, when he really pondered on something, the results were never good.

Look at what happened when he lost his powers.

The rain had ceased, and it was with apathy that he looked back at what had happened before. He knew he couldn't change what had happened, there was no way to go in reverse to alter what fate had set in stone. But no matter what he did, the past was still there. No matter what happened, no matter what had happened, no matter what would happen, it would always be there, the ominous reminder that spoke of how the end would come when he failed.

It was the bloody past that spoke of the futility of protecting anything.

He was a contradiction, a being destined to protect even when all he had was the power to destroy. At full power, his very presence was an affront to creation, everything around him fading away as his power grew ever larger. It was a useless strength, even when he willed with all his heart that he would protect, all he managed to do was end the world.

His heart was there, all be damned if his heart didn't want to protect, but his strength failed him.

By succeeding oh so gloriously.

Reality was ripped asunder by his will, by his strength and even the God who went beyond God was not enough to crush him. Everything else was insignificant when the torrent of power cleansed everything, from the broken reality they stood in to the far reaches of the connected dimensions. Destruction so absolute that no hope was left for the God took over him, but it was uncontrolled.

It spread beyond comprehension.

His mother dreaded the day he would become a murder, that was why he neglected to tell her that it was a very real possibility that the blood of _billions_ already stained his hands.

Despair had left him, the rain had ceased, but was the alright?

Could he really move on from such an atrocity?

Did he deserve to even exist with such sin weighing heavily on his soul?

He could only look back with apathy, though the guilt was there, the festering guilt still remained when everything was said and done. It no longer rained, the skyscrapers reached for the sky and all was well, but the sky was far from blue. Not a drop fell in his soul, but clouds, heavy and silent, loomed from horizon to horizon, depriving his soul of the warmth that it experienced.

He was free from the rain, but at the same time he felt as if he didn't deserve the sun's light, his sun's light. For everything he did, for what he didn't do, he just couldn't accept that all was well. The end could never justify the means, just as the reverse was true; just because he didn't mean for it to happen, doesn't mean that he was free from all responsibility.

He was guilty, he didn't need the judgement of the world, he already knew he was guilty.

He planed to do penance, he planed to change the world for the better, but that was all he could do. That and not forget, he could never forget those he failed, those he ruined in the name of protecting.

That was his self imposed punishment, to bear the weight of his actions by being the only one who could clearly recall his crime.

And it _hurt_.

"Why are you crying?"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

She was bored, bored out of her mind.

She loved her parents, just as much as a child should, but at the same time, at least for a child, she could hate them with just as much intensity.

Such was what happened when they invited her to the meeting. At first, she couldn't be happier, it was a child's dream after all to meet with the defenders of humanity; her parents didn't really count no matter how close they were. To meet a real life Hunter was something to give her inspiration, was what would be validation that what she was doing, what others were pushing her to do was right.

She was good after all, quite quickly being the best in her school no matter the year level. Sure, there were those who could give her a hard time, the teachers were still the indomitable titans that were everyone's superiors, but she adapted quickly and she knew that if she tried, if she worked hard enough than it would be an accomplishable task. She was taught from the beginning that nothing was impossible after all, and as long as she put her mind to it, the success would be the only outcome.

It hadn't been wrong yet.

So she met with the Hunter, a Huntsman who looked to be slightly younger than her own parents with a visage that could only be described as warm and fuzzy, almost like how a plush toy would make a child feel. He was cordial with her, ready to answer the barrage of questions she had for him, even if it was evident that she caught him by surprise.

She was caught of guard when they politely asked her to leave, claiming that the things they would have to discuss would by too much for the little girl.

So she did, acting like the obedient little girl she was supposed to be, but as soon as she was out of earshot of the tiny cabin they chose as their meeting place, she screamed in frustration. Or at least she would have if she didn't see that she was not alone. They were in a village after all, quite far from where they originally lived, but a populated area nonetheless.

She was told to wander town for a bit, her parents knowing full well that in a town like this, the dangers lurking were not above her skill level to handle, but she didn't feel like exploring. No with such a flat out rejection, she was content with simply waiting at a place nearby, somewhere she can be alone with her thoughts.

Not far from where she came from was a park, a quiet little place surprisingly devoid of people despite the weather being perfect for children to play. If it wasn't for her disappointment she would have happily monopolized the area, even if it would take her mind of her worries for just a short time. But she saw something.

In training, her weapon was a rifle, so it was paramount that her eyes were sharp. Not being large or strong enough to use more conventional weaponry yet, she took to long range battle first, and she excelled at it, no small part to her excellent eyes. It was said that she could put a round though a Beowolf's eyes fifty meters away, bypassing the armored mask and sending the bullet straight though the brain.

Spotting a child crying at a bench was child's play for her.

Part of her shied away, the rational part reminding her that it was none of her business. He was a stranger, someone she didn't know, someone she had no connection, someone she had no intention of meeting in the future. She would have nothing to do with him and nothing would change. She could talk to him for hours and yet, in her mind she knew nothing would change.

But the child in her, the part of her that stayed a nine year old no matter how talented, how trained, how serious she always was longed to talk to him. It was the empathy only children felt, that same empathy that would fade when they are forced to face the world and take in all the ugly darkness that littered it. It was the innocence that demanded her to try, no matter what her mind said.

And so, being a child she was above all else, she approached him.

She sat beside him, on the bench that faced the horizon with the city behind them, and with the words of a child she asked the only thing that she could think of.

"Why are you crying?"

He shook with a start, orange hair trembling even as a soft breeze slowly tousled the unruly locks, his amber eyes, still wet with tears, shifting from her to the salty droplets that found themselves on his hands. With all the sophistication of a child, he took his shirt and used it to wipe his eyes, erasing all evidence of tears while his face set into a deep scowl. "Nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing." She said intelligently, the boy in front of her looking away while she drew closer. "Come on, why were you crying?"

She was frustrated, first her parents, then this kid. Couldn't he see she was trying to help him out, even when she didn't have a reason to? That was fine, she was used to that kind of thing to an extent, and she knew exactly how to deal with something like that. She was the best student after all, and with that came a great number of things, first of which was a group of very varied friends.

She was good at what she did, and being good at what you did was enough to gain popularity as a child. With that popularity came with people, and with those people came the skill in dealing with different kinds of people. He was being a sourpuss, someone who was mad, all the time no matter what was happening. He would never open up on his own, and there was only one remedy for that.

_When a person is sad, and they don't want to tell you they're sad, you don't leave them there._ Her mother once said. _You keep trying until you help them up._

And that's exactly what she planed to do.

"Okay, then if you don't want to answer that question, at least tell me why you don't want to tell me?" She pushed on with a strained smile as the boy returned with a quirked eyebrow.

"And what's the difference between the two?" He offered, almost genuinely confused while her smile grew.

_Step one, confuse the opponent. This will allow doubt and hesitation to creep in and and weaken resolve. Note, if used incorrectly, the opponent may find greater resolve and close off entirely._

"Well, if you tell me why you don't want to tell me, then I can do something about it." She answered with a confident grin. "I know you need help at least, and I can't help a person who doesn't want it. If you tell me why you don't want it then I can make you... want it? Does that sound right? Never mind, just tell me why you're acting all moody, like some angry... cat or something."

"And acting like a child is supposed to make me want to tell you more?" She puffed her cheeks, the smile on his face was not exactly genuine. if anything, it made her feel worse than when he was scowling at her. It was the smile adults wore when talking to her. it didn't matter if it looked happy or gentle, she knew if it didn't come from her parents then it wasn't genuine.

"Don't go talk like you're older than me, if anything I'm older that you." She pointed out victoriously before placing her index finger millimeters away from his eyes. "Now, as your senior, I demand to know what's making you cry!" It was an almost comical scene, her on her feet, pointing at a boy she didn't even know. If the park had more people, she was sure they would be staring at them by now.

The boy seemed to think so, a hoarse chuckle rising from his lips as he shook his head. "Not happening little girl..."

"Pyrrha."

"Excuse me?"

"I have a name, and it's Pyrrha, not little girl." She crossed her arms before her still developing chest. No matter how much she tried to, it was impossible not to wonder how her mother's and her chests were so different. "How about you, what's your name?"

He didn't answer immediately, opting to look her over once... twice before seemingly nodding to himself. "I can't say it doesn't suit you." He motioned towards her red hair, bearing more resemblance to flames than his ever would. "Sorry, kid really, I'm not going to tell you." He told her with a smile that allowed no room for argument, as if he was an older brother gently chastising his younger sister.

She was about to yell, about to scream before his eyes turned icy.

All the warmth his amber held, flashing into a harsh frigid blue for an instant, so fast that for weeks she would be wondering if it was the trick of the light, before he held up his hand.

"But I might change my mind if you can take me down."

_You messed with a the wrong fighter, boy_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo didn't know what to feel when he saw that smirk.

It was out of place on such a sweet girl, the smirk of a predator that had found it's prey.

That was the reason he was so adamant of keeping his sorrows to himself, to taint a child with them was something he wouldn't want to do under any circumstances. There was a reason he kept his troubles to himself, no matter what realm they resided in. The one who murdered the world did not deserve any solace, he did not deserve respite, more so if it came at the sacrifice of a child's innocence.

He was snapped from his thoughts when she spoke with a childish tone, almost teasing as it was superior. "So be it." Then she moved.

She was fast, he had to admit that much. The distance between them was short at most, roughly a meter or two, but for a child to cross that distance faster than he could blink was something. Her move was a simple one, a lightning fast sweep that would have taken down most children. With the way he could see the dust flying from under her, kicked up the the sheer force of the blow and the friction of the shoes against the dusty ground, he could assume that it would have taken down adults if it was well aimed and if she caught them off guard.

It would have been embarrassing to be caught by such a lackluster move, as if he hadn't been done in by enough low blows as it was.

His feet flew, drifting centimeters over the offending leg as as his eyes met hers, green glowing with resolve clashing against amber that held nothing but boredom, before he landed, taking a step back in preparation for the next blow. True enough she recovered quickly; using the momentum from her sweep to propel her from her crouch, her leg retracted back before she changed her pivot and launched a high kick towards his jaw.

Her heel sped past his chin, but even he could see her assault had just begun. Undaunted, her foot struck the ground and her body flew forward, a flying punch was aimed at his chest.

He had enough.

She was good, better than most children, better than he was, or even Tatsuki was when they were her age, but it was still sloppy. It wasn't lack of speed, no she had plenty of that, it was more of lack of skill. He would make sure that by the end of it she knew just how far apart they were int terms of fighting prowess.

The punch flew, but it went wide as he sidestepped around her; a simple feint with the subtlety of a truck. That didn't stop her from trying to strike him with a haphazard swing, one he easily ducked under before he went for the kill. He stood form a hastily formed crouch, and his hands flew from his sides, one to intercept the fist hurtling towards him with the other went for her throat.

In a blink of an eye it was over faster than it started, his fingers tipped with lighting hovering threateningly over her neck. "Lesson number one, don't accept random challenges from strangers. If you do, prepare to pay for it."

He lightly released her fist before placing his hands back in his pockets. _That should be enough to keep her staring for a few minutes_ He thought quietly before walking away, intent on going home. He knew the way after all, and if worst came to worst, he could just fly back to the village. Of course, he should have known better than to let his guard down; Pyrrha coming out of nowhere to tackle him.

As much as he disliked his father's version of training, he couldn't say he didn't use it. It was that hidden awareness that allowed him to evade the last minute, just as a river of red passed him. He fell back on his heel before his own arm shot forth, clasping the girl by the shoulder before turning her around with a deft flick of the wrist.

Strangely enough, the strange show of force didn't cause the girl any worry or discomfort. If anything, it was the opposite, seeing the strange smile on her face and faint blush coloring her cheeks as she panted with... overwhelming anticipation?

"That was incredible, no one's ever beaten me that quickly before!" The strange girl gushed, unperturbed by the fact that not a moment ago, he held her life in his hands. "You can even use Aura and your Semblance at such an age too, How?"

"Woah, keep still or I might decide to knock you out." It was a lie of course, he wouldn't dare try the single strike method if Narius, the best at Kaido among them, wasn't there, but the way she froze, standing at attention was enough to draw a small smile from him. He wouldn't even go all out against a girl unless he was _convinced_ that she would try and kill, not him but the people he held dear. "The reason I can fight is none of your concern, the question would be how can a kid like _you_ move like that?"

That seemed to be the wrong choice of action since he seemed to have given her what she wanted. A platform to launch a decent conversation from. Before he could utter anything to retract his previous statement though, she renewed her attempt to befriend him.

"Well that's easy! I've been training to enter the Mistral Regional Tournament so it's not supposed to be a surprise if I'm this strong!" She jabbed her thumb at her chest as she proclaimed proudly. "I'm not the strongest yet, but I'll get there. Wait... No! You don't get to change the topic again! Where did you train to fight like that? I go to Sanctum, but not even the upperclassmen can beat me that fast!"

Sanctum. He knew the place, if only in passing. It was what people called a combat school, an institution where the training to become a Hunter begins. It's different from a regular primary school in the fact that it includes, as it's name implies, combat training, against both human and nonhuman combatants. It's a place that reminded him too much of the Shino Academy.

What was sad was it wasn't the only one.

It was one of the most prominent in Mistral, where the tournament she mentioned was taking place. As it implies, the tournament it less than a game and more of a Colosseum when children, _children of all things,_ came to fight one another in a test of skill. No one died, at worst injuries would be incurred but nothing permanent or life-threatening, but the fact that they allowed children who should be playing around, battle in a simulation against their peers was worrying enough. For all their advances, it seemed that culture decided to take a step back, when strength was most important in society.

He shrugged, maybe telling her a few things wouldn't be all that bad, as long as he avoided anything too revealing. "I see. I don't go to combat school, but I have... teachers who train me in basic combat." He smirked a bit, inwardly enjoying getting a rise from the little girl. It was very similar to teasing his younger sisters, and if he missed anything about his family, it was the twins. "I don't know if they're that good though, maybe you're just that bad."

Of course, for the self proclaimed 'best little girl from Sanctum' she wouldn't take such an insult lying down. "I already beat you, remember?" Ichigo reminded the girl, clutching the hastily thrown fist with surprising gentleness before lowering her hand and patting her head. Definitely too much like a hyperactive and adorably angry Yuzu. "Now, will you finally leave me alone?"

The last thing he expected was a bright smile from the little girl. "At least you're not sad anymore, so I think that's good enough for me." She made her way to the bench, sighing as she sat before patting the area beside her, an expectant smile playing on her lips as she gazed up at the orange-haired child. "So what's your name? It's rude to keep a lady waiting, or at least that's what my parents say."

He recoiled, eyes widening in surprise. In all the commotion, he found that he did forget all the worries that plagued him when that idiot of a Huntsman left him on the lone park bench. He didn't even feel the tears flowing from his eyes until the girl approached him, until she asked him why he was crying, why he was sad. Of course he couldn't bother her with his worries, being the mentally older one between the two of them, it was his responsibility and his alone, and so he waved her off.

The problem was she just didn't quit.

"Just a few days ago, my mother said the exact same thing." He grumbled, drawing a strained chuckle from the girl as he walked forward. He offered his hand, taking the seat beside her with a tired sigh of resignation. "Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo, a nice to meet you Pyrrha; and thanks. A friend of mine once said that I was too hardheaded for my own good. I feel much better now."

"The Talk?" The awkward, pained smile on her face told him all that he needed to know.

"You too?" Ichigo asked just to make sure, mirroring the expression of his fellow victim.

"Unfortunately, my parents decided that since women supposedly mature faster, it was fine to give it earlier on." She nodded before patting the scared boy on the back. "I would love to say that it gets better, but really all you can do is try to tune out what you didn't want to hear. At least it was my mom who gave it to me, I can't imagine how it would have been if Dad discussed those... things."

Ichigo didn't even try to suppress the shudder that racked his spine. For all her inexperience as a child, her assumption was spot on, his own experience was just confirmation. His father was crazy, mentally insane in the worst way imaginable that he attacked his son in the name of training, but even Ichigo could admit he preferred that crazy, over the top, almost senseless version of the Talk that one that came from his mother. It just reminded him how, no matter at what age, it was impossible to think that his parents knew such... activities before they were born.

He shook his head, no one wanted to think about those things.

"That's a horrible reason to cry you know?" She added gently, shaking her head as he looked on with wary eyes. "I'm not asking, not anymore. The sadness has passed after all, there is no reason to dwell on it any longer." She returned his gaze with a grin. "Besides, I got your name after all, so I guess it's my win in the end, even if I lost the fight."

Fight.

"Why?" He asked with genuine confusion and a hint of regret. "Why do you fight? Children should not be a welcome sight on the battlefield. It just isn't right."

"I can say the same for you, Ichigo." Pyrrha replied easily, her eyes on the horizon. "But would you deny those who choose to fight? The world isn't fair, the Grimm's existence proves that, humans flung to the furthest corners of the world prove that, the horrible Faunus relations prove that. We can complain all we want, but nothing is going to change if we don't do something, if we don't act. Ideals don't protect humanity, we have to. I fight because I can, because I'm good at it, and because if I don't and the adults fall, who will? It might not be right, but the Grimm have no sense of right and wrong, only alive and dead. Sacrifices have to be made, I know that and I won't force anyone to follow suit, but I'll take it proudly if I know that someone else doesn't have to. I fight for us, humanity, for all of us."

The way she spoke, so full of conviction, not a shred of doubt on her countenance, shook him to the core. Gone was the little girl who acted exactly like his younger sister when angered, gone was the spoiled fighter who used strength to achieve her ends, beside him sat a Huntress in the making, one willing to fight for humanity just because she could. It was childish innocence, tempered with an adult's wisdom. It was iron will to protect, to survive coupled with the gentleness, the understanding, the empathy only a child could have. It was defiant, a cry of hope against an ocean of terror and despair.

For lack of words, it was admirable.

"Are you really nine?" He could only asked as soon as he caught his jaw.

And just like that, she was a kid again.

The music of her laughter filled the empty park as the girl leaned into the cool wood of the bench. He could only smile as he watched her laugh, shifting from the image of maturity and elegance back to the child he managed to take down with a single move. "Nine and a half, and don't you forget it kid!" She proclaimed proudly before ruffling his hair, tittering at the scowl he made. "That was a speech my dad made, always gets the other adults and teaches crazy when I say it. You must be really smart to understand half of it! Now it's your turn, why do you want to become a Huntsman?"

He leaned back into the bench. "I don't even know if I want to be one."

"Eh, why not? You can fight pretty well for someone who doesn't look like a battle junkie. You don't look that smart either. What else would you do?" Pyrrha was surprisingly quick to get back on her feet, her face ending up extremely close to the confused Ichigo, while the boy barely managed to hide his reactions to her innocent insults. "You can fight, so why don't you want to?"

"It's not as if I gave up on the option completely, it's just that I have a lot on my mind at the moment." He explained patiently, gently pushing her face away by the forehead. "I fight to protect people I care about, my friends and family and right now that's enough for me. I don't want to be a hero of legend, or the best hunter in the world, as long as I can protect those precious to me, I'm satisfied."

"That's loser talk." She proclaimed pointedly, again unleashing the index finger that made her seem just as threatening as a kitten.

Funny, those were the exact words Tatsuki had for him when he found that he was strong enough to finally beat her."I guess it is."

"That's just not fair!" She crossed her arms against her chest before falling back on the bench. "You're not supposed to accept something like that so easily."

"I guess that's how a kid would react, but I had to grow up faster." He began, his voice resembling Kaiser more than he would like to admit. "A teacher of mine said it's okay to want to be stronger, but first you need to survive, and to do that you need to learn your limits. I'm not strong enough to say I want to protect everyone yet, but I'll get there, eventually."

"I'll be waiting for you then." She returned his smile with a radiant grin, leaning forward as she propped herself on her hands.

He smiled, nothing too light, too forced, or even patronizing. It wasn't the smile he used when he was about to beat an enemy down. It wasn't the smile he wore when he had an epiphany about himself, his sword or powers. It wasn't even the smile he used when he spoke to his little siblings. It was the smile he used when he was genuinely happy; happy that he found someone else like him.

If only the moment wasn't so quickly ruined.

"Adorab..."

Kaiser was a Hunter, that was an undeniable fact.

Even without 'proper' training as the world dubbed it, he was a formidable opponent in sparring, a veritable force of nature unleashed against the creatures of Grimm. As a fighter he was top notch, leaning hand to hand combat from practically every Hakuda Master who ever lived from borrowed memories. His strength only surpassed his skill, having retained all of the augmentations he received before the war was in full swing.

He had the strength to tear down buildings, with no more than his bare hands, and that was before he utilized the fullness of his augmented state. His speed was his most noticeable facet, allowing him to move like lightning across the battlefield, striking down Grimm left and right with his punches and kicks.

And yet he was nothing compared to the Hero of the Winter War.

Even before he finished uttering that single word, Ichigo was on him, a single word on his own lips as he whispered the name of his attack.

"Ikkotsu"

It was severely under-powered, he didn't know if full strength was enough to kill even a Hunter of Kaiser's caliber, but he didn't want to take the chance. All he wanted to do was get back at the annoying modsoul for every single mess the plush turned human caused. So it was no surprise when the punch that could potentially destroy an opponent in a single strike landed somewhere far lower than anticipated.

It was still quite a sight though, a child clearing the distance between the park bench and several meters past the playground's border in an instant before throwing a fist. The offending hand couldn't even be seen, flying much too fast for even a fulfilled Hunter too witness before coming in contact with cloth and unleashing a shockwave that should have irradiated everything in the nearest quarter mile. He did hold back, it wasn't as if he wanted to use Kaiser as a wrecking ball and destroy the city after all.

It didn't change anything, the fact that he held back. His strike connected, though not where he expected it to.

"Brennan..." Ichigo growled threateningly, glaring daggers at the black clad being that held him down, the teenager's foot firmly on the child's fist.

The action was much too fast to see clearly, but it was obvious the Quincy fell from the sky just as his fist was about to strike true, intercepting the blow with his entire weight to prevent the Huntsman from being struck. "We're finished here. Your mother sent me to pick you two up before anything crazy happened. It turns out that she was right. Say goodbye to your friend and we can leave."

The boy wrenched his hand free, sending the Quincy flying before the spirit landed expertly beside the shocked Huntsman, as the boy returned to the bench, to an extremely surprised Pyrrha. At least he had the decency to look bashful at what he did, crossing the distance in an instant and coming unbelievably close to striking a Huntsman for real. Let's not even mention the fact that he had enough physical strength to fling what looked like an older teenager though the air with just one hand.

"You... and he..." She tried breathlessly, quickly glancing between the boy and the pair behind him.

"Yes." He nodded with all the patience of an older brother

"And then... he... up there..." Her eyes were still wide as she looked heavenward.

"Uh huh." He repeated with a small smile.

"I give up." She finally said, defeated as he shoulders fell and an exasperated breath escaped her lips.

"Smart choice." He reached out, patting her head if only to get her to face him. "See you whenever I guess."

"Remember, it's rude to keep a lady waiting for too long." She replied with a sly smile before taking his hand from her head and giving it a good squeeze.

"I'll keep that in mind." The boy returned the handshake briefly before turning away. "See you soon, Pyrrha."

"Right back at you, Ichigo."

And so the Invincible Girl left and the Hero of the Winter War went their separate ways.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Please stop." Tensa began with a sigh, trying his best to avoid using his modified Ransōtengai on the pair just to stop them from playing around.

It had started as soon as the left the city limits, the little game of cat and mouse they played endlessly whenever they thought they were alone. Ichigo didn't look like the type to hold a grudge, but the fact that he _still_ wanted to get back at the modsoul for that particular low blow was apparent that such an assumption was wrong. Tensa had been there, more often than not, to make sure that Kasier still had functioning... organs; they just didn't have the technology to repair him if he died with Urahara's fate still unknown, but even he knew that he could not be everywhere at once.

His power was supposed to be Omniscience and by extension, leaning on Omnipotence.

He couldn't pull off Omnipresence no matter how he tried.

The latest attempt made by the boy was stopped like the last one, with him falling from on high just in time to plant his foot and prevent Ichigo from landing a solid punch aimed below the belt. Again, as soon as the boy realized what happened, he pulled his hand free, fully intending on tossing the one who stood on it away before he jumped back, to analyze the situation before he delivered another strike.

Kaiser himself was barely keeping up, the only thing keeping him from being castrated by the sheer force of the blow was the fact that ichigo still had his seals limiting his strength.

If not for that he would have been turned into a eunuch long ago.

"Fine, but I want to know what the meeting was about." Ichigo replied begrudgingly, glaring at the Huntsman, not once showing any sign of lowering his guard.

"I was going to that, but you never let me explain." The modsoul whined, quickly stopping when the boy's glare intensified. "Alright, but we have to take a seat. This will take quite a lot of time."

"And what about the Grimm that might come around." Tensa quirked an eyebrow at the Huntsman and the child as both shrugged.

"What about the small fry?" The boy replied with a question, his voice thick with defiance as he returned his deadly gaze at the Huntsman. "Now out with it."

"I met with Nikos, and basically the information the information we exchanged wasn't much to begin with." Kasier explained, taking a more serious tone while he met Ichigo's glare with not so much as a hint of fear. "We know that there were four attackers, though the full extent of the damage would be pegged as the result of an entire army attacking. The army of Atlas was next to shit against these guys, in terms of combat effectiveness, and even in the area of data gathering. There was literally only one picture with all of them in it, the rest of the information being unsalvageable."

"So we may be dealing with anything between an entire organization with several strike teams like this or a single four man unit?" Tensa queried, worry masking his features. It was a single strike team that took out an entire facility with no more resistance that a child armed with a garden hose would have against an anthill. Logic dictated that one was bad enough, if they had to deal with several opponents of that caliber than maybe even they would have trouble in the long run. It was prudent they get more information in the shortest amount of time.

"Maybe, but we can't be totally sure." Kaiser answered with a shake of his head. "The data suggests that they couldn't be detected by the more conventional Aura sensors, which meant that we can't even tell if they were different people or a person using a special ability to divide themselves. If anything this suggests that they are good at what they do and they have ample resources to prepare such a tactical strike as well as arm themselves for it. The attacks they used weren't aura, that's for sure, but they have a strange energy signature not even they could scan."

Tensa took a moment to think before shaking his head, freeing himself of the thought. In his travels he learned that there was, in fact, a difference between what they called Aura and Reiatsu. the former was strong, maybe just as strong as the latter could be given enough time, but the main difference between them lied in the source. Aura was something like what Fullbringers would use, something closer to ki that came from the body itself while Reiatsu or Reiyoku was what came from the spirit itself. It wasn't much of a difference at first glance but this was made apparent by the strange energy they felt whenever they tried to use reiastu to detect each other.

Narius, the self proclaimed Humanity of Ichigo and the manifestation of his Fullbring, was evidence of this. He had the thing closest to Aura among the four of them, and when it came to sensing Narius, it would always look like he wore the presence of two people. The reiatsu they sensed from him was innately Ichigo's, or rather what Ichigo would have felt like while he was still human, or as close to human as he could be, while the second would be what the people acknowledged as Aura. Among all of them, Narius was the one most noticed, other than Aki who had the Aura of a trained Huntress.

In terms of use though, they were innately alike, from being used to reinforce one's form to being projected as raw power. It was quite possible that the reason the Aura of those individuals was not detected in the first place was that reiatsu took the place of the common power instead. Then again, it was more possible that they finally found a way to cloak the Aura of an individual, allowing quick infiltration and escape, as well as combat. The second was more viable anyway, since they didn't know how many people crossed over from their own world, and assuming would do them no good.

"You're saying..." The boy began, only to be cut off when Kaiser raised his hand.

"It's equally possible that they made a measure that would prevent their detection. Look at the technology they have, in a war torn society no less." The Huntsman argued with the practiced ease of a politician. "Reason calls for regression when it comes to war and they should have been at war since the first Grimm showed up. If they can make jets, transmission towers, hell computers that look and work the way they do then it should be a simple matter to make something like a cloaking device. Urahara did something similar after all, they could easily replicate it give the current technology."

"So then, we're back to square one?" Tensa offered with a resigned expression.

"I didn't say that. We know that they are four for the moment and that they most likely have backing of even bigger organisations. They are also brave enough to actually strike this time, which means that they are either confident or that the situation was just so grave that they were pushed to make a move." Kasier explained with all the tactical knowledge he could muster. "Furthermore, the fact that they struck such an institution so quietly means that they are sending a message, a warning, to any who would do the same. They look like good guys from my end at least; attacking the place and not necessarily the people. Another tidbit of information; no matter what happened, there were no deaths, simply destruction of property and information. That's all in all, a good sign."

"So we have to wait again don't we?"

"Exactly!"

"Don't say it was just a cheerful expression you lazy crossdresser!"

"Why don't you make me Mama's Strawberry!"

Tensa sighed before shaking his head; maybe some things would never change. "Come on then, it's not wise to keep them waiting."

"Wait, keep who waiting?" The two asked in unison, ceasing their squabbling in time for Tensa to approach them with an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Your mother." He pointed at Ichigo before turning to Kaiser. "Your wife."

* * *

**AN**

**Cliff-Hanger (PLEASE DON'T HATE ME)**

**Hey, sorry for the delay but currently it's exam weeks (yes unfortunately that really is plural) for me and I don't know if I would have enough time to post this last week, Obviously I didn't. The next one would be in two weeks time since obviously life's a callin and I don't want to fail college when it's this early. if a few years maybe I won't mind so much but yeah, must not fail. **

**This chapter we meet several people, form hooded guys who seem to resemble a team with a silent genius, a war freak who won't stop talking about himself, a blabbermouth scientist and a woman who seems to work well with a crop.**

** And Pyrrha, she's here too.**

**On the subject of the in cannon OP character, I have to say charactarizing her was fun in that ha could bend the rules a bit. I speak from experience that as a kid, when someone is just that awesome, they tended to be very popular. No pedestal stuff yet, just praise from everyone and happy all around. She hasn't gotten to the point where everyone's expectations are too high and she's some kind of goddess to them yet.**

**Bright happy, maybe a little pushy Pyrrha, yay!**

**As for the title and the Facility, if you can't guess that then maybe you should watch cannon a bit more.**

**The action is coming so I just ask for patience. The main antagonists of the intro arc (Either White Fang, Mysterious Team, Atlas, maybe even one of the 'Protagonists') is already moving as planed. In a few we will be able to see just how far the little boy's gone from being an angsty teen to being a mature kid who's grown up way to fast. **

**Revs**

**King, clw, Gates, Hollow, Kami, Punk, jj and anym: Thanks for the support, really means a lot that you reviewed, even just to say I did a good job. :D Really going to make the next one better, or so I'll try.**

**gates: I'm not telling just yet, but to be perfectly clear, I haven't gotten to the point where I'll need them yet. XD**

**Kami: well I will thank you for the support, and I can't really force you to read if you don't want to or cant. To everyone who finds my writing style confusing but still tries anyway, I have to say a big thank you. Again please don't hesitate to PM me if only to ask questions, you will get responses faster that reviews I can promise that much.**

**Punk and Anon: Well, romance is a bit iffy for me since at best I go slow and steady. No going in hot, no quick love at first sight, really just slow dev and if we get there then we get there. That being said, I'm not planning a harem if it looks like that. I mean yeah, it will get to the point where it looks like love is all around but if it does reach that point then you'll know. only definite paring right now is Kon and (next chapter please) **

**As an example, interactions with Nora, Weiss and Pyrrha. Innocent, mostly childish, deep to be fair but no real underlying current of romance. Classing first meeting, if the children were not exposed to the wars and truths of the world. If it evolves past that point then maybe we get to see a little strawberry action but I have to watch the story grow for a while. Muse can be very fickle at times after all.**

**JJ: Sorry, but thanks for reading anyway.**

**Alright that's all, please look forward to next chapter when we meet (XXXXX)**

**This has been Proccit,**

**BYE BYE! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Ready Aim Fire**

* * *

As soon as Ichigo laid eyes on the green, that deep shade that rivaled the mystery concealed in the veil of leaves, he recognized her immediately. It was longer though, the vibrant green tresses extending down well past her shoulders even as the danced ever so gently in the slow passing breeze that cooled the threshold of Kaiser's home. Her frame was lithe as ever and it was obvious that she grew since their heartbreaking desperation, the girl standing just slightly taller than Aki's own chin. Her eyes changed as well, dark amethyst glimmering in the dying twilight instead of the usual rage that filled them whenever she, Kaiser, or Ichigo happened to be in the same place at the same time.

"Nozomi..." The orange haired child breathed with slight hesitation, his bangs shadowing his face even as hidden amber eyes glared at the woman before him. "You're alive. Shit."

The modsoul could only smile gently, understandingly as she placed a hand on Aki's shoulder and shook her head. His mother, once fueled by righteous anger took a step back as she glanced from her son to the woman beside her. Aki relented as the woman took slow, almost tentative, steps towards the boy, stopping only when she was less than a foot away from him. The once little girl towered over him now, in a way an adult would stand above a child, but only she looked down on him. He didn't or rather, she knew he couldn't meet her gaze, not like this.

"Hmm" She hummed before crouching down, just so amber could meet amethyst once more, this time without the blue veil of light that separated her from them last time. "I guess I am."

"Even after you left him crying, you're still giving me problems." The boy didn't give her a second glance before turning back to Tensa. "We need to pick up the pace. I will not get caught off guard this time."

Kaiser was the next one to speak. "Wait, wait, that's it? No tears, no heartfelt speeches, not even a hug? I knew you were a prude Ichigo, but to think you were this..." The Huntsman didn't have time to finish his complaint when a crescent of bright blue came sailing towards him, narrowly darting above his head when he finally thought it was a good idea to hit the deck. When he opened his eyes, he was looking at Ichigo, no worse for wear with a heartless expression on his face, one more suited to the Fourth Espada. His fingers glowed with excess energy, remnants of the attack he fired at him.

The boy had been training, inevitably that in itself would produce results. His growth factor was still as monstrous as ever and even as he learned how to use his powers, Quincy, Hollow, and Shinigami, more effectively. He also gained finer control over his significant reiatsu. His father did it before, firing a Getsuga even without activating his Shikai while the attack itself was powerful enough to make even Aizen acknowledge it's strength. Ichigo took it a step further, being able to fire his signature technique without the aid of his swords, instead using his hands as 'blades'.

"We've run out of time for games, Kon. This is serious." His hand shot out, a finger pointing accusingly at the woman, the modsoul, who should not be standing before them. "She's proof that the impossible can happen. The fact that Nozomi is here means that _Everyone_ can be here."

That's right. Kujo Nozomi, the modsoul that Kon fell in love with, died after sacrificing herself for the good of Soul Society. The conspiracy reached it's climax when Ichigo, his power temporarily restored fought Ōko Yushima. When the Hero of the Winter War found that he could not defeat the modsoul by himself he was surprised to find out that Nozomi, even when trapped within Yushima himself, had been restraining the modsoul, going as far as destabilizing him and inevitably leading to his defeat. In the end, despite their best efforts, such actions came at a cost.

Nozomi had destabilized them at the cost of her own life, and even if she had the a little more time, she too began to fade away. The aftermath was a somber affair, all knowing that Nozomi would never again come back to them. She was a modsoul after all, an artificial being, no better than a thing, and with her death came only oblivion. She would not be included in the cycle of reincarnation, instead she would fade away as surely as anyone would if they were killed by a Quincy's arrow.

And yet, despite the fact that she died long before the final battle with the King of the Quincy, she stood before them, looking at the child-like Hero with eyes filled with confusion.

She couldn't understand his fears, fears that have been confirmed with her very existence.

She was here, someone with no right to be existing was standing before him.

That meant that _everyone_ could be here, and that was never a good thing.

Grand Fisher, The Complete Espada, The Original Gotei Thirteen, The Entire Royal Guard, every Quincy to exist including Yhwach. Those alone could bring ruin to the entire world, when compounded with the other various threats Ichigo and his friends had dealt with over the years, then the world had no hope of making it in one piece. If he had to clash with the Quincy King a second time, he would win handily, but the Dimension itself could not survive a battle of such titanic proportions. If they all managed to retain their memories from the other world, then that final battle is but a foregone conclusion.

There was a chance that they would battle among themselves, Quincy, Shinigami, and Hollows, never did get along with each other enough to mount a single united assault, but even if those three factions were to resume fighting in a world just as Spiritually Active as Soul Society itself, the damage done would be astronomical, True, the Grimm won't stand a chance against, say a pair of Hollows that kills lesser Hollows by virtue of their mere presence, but those three factions would simply replace the Creatures of Grimm as the main adversary of the world.

Really the Grimm was a much easier threat to handle, at least they were mindless creatures acting on nothing but negative emotions.

"I'm not stupid Ichigo, why do you think we've been keeping her away for so long?" Kaiser stood with a smirk.

_Wait, what? _The boy thought, genuine confusion lining his expression. "Wait what?" Sometimes, when he just can't think anymore, his mouth and brain do synchronize.

To be fair, it was quite difficult to change his perception of the modsoul from a shameless cross-dressing idiot pervert to an actually competent combatant.

"Do you even know why Project Spearhead was started?"

The boy glared at the plush turned human. "To create alternatives..."

"To synthesize and copy Quincy powers." The lion's smile showed teeth this time as the mod soul reveled in the Hero's confusion. "Why do you think her first ability is to absorb and then utilize other peoples' reiatsu. That, more than anything, is exactly why it was canceled in the first place; because it succeeded on it's first try. As of this moment, we'll assume worst case scenario, and act accordingly."

"Then that means..."

"Yup, I'm going to be training you too, Chibi-Ichi." Nozomi interjected with a smile, ruffling the child's hair.

"And to think I was just about to admit that I was happy to see you."

"Oh, you were never this cute when you scowled before!" The Huntress gushed before picking the boy up, twirling him in the same way his mother did the first time they seriously talked. Said other simply stood to the side, an understanding smirk on her face as she watched Kaiser's wife laugh and her own son protest in vain. The video camera in her hand was watching as intently as she was.

_Well, it could be worse._ _Wait, that doesn't count... I didn't say it. Right?_

"Hey, and It's been decided." Narius called out, his head the only thing visible from behind the door. "We're going to be Huntsmen in training so you have to have perfect control in a few months from now." Amber met crimson and the true message was received. His eyes said 'We're going to work you till you collapse from here on in so you better be prepared for what hell we have in store.'

_Fuck. _It was probably visible on his face, because immediately after Nozomi stopped to squeeze him even harder, her voice gaining an uncomfortably high pitch.

"And Ichi is so Tsundere now!"

"Damn it Zangetsu, when did you have the time to read all these manga!"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Jaune Arc was scared. He was absolutely petrified at that point, sitting down and waiting for the inevitable. But patiently, painstakingly, he waited for what he knew was coming.

There was no avoiding the approaching judgement and despite everything, it was _that_ he feared more than anything.

An appropriate idiom would be "a lamb among a pack of wolves," because, at the end of it all, that was exactly what he was. Around him were people, people who could fight monsters, people who more than likely already did fight monsters and came out on top. The people, girls and boys, men and women, despite all appearances, were people who could crush him like a bug. Yeah, sure, it would take some effort, killing a fly was not exactly as easy as it sounded when all you're just using your bare hands, but it would be a simple matter to simply beat him to a pulp and leave him for dead.

He sat in the middle of some strange cabin shaped more like a lecture hall, as a simple farm boy in the midst of monsters.

That wasn't why he was afraid.

Furthermore, if ever they decided that it was in their best interest to bully, beat up, abuse, torture, or maybe simply hurt him, then they would probably be justified in doing so. Aside from considerable strength, one needed to be in peak mental condition to enter such a prestigious academy, and if they didn't figure it out immediately, then his deception would definitely come to light eventually. The outrage, the malice, the sheer unadulterated hate that would be poured on him as soon as the student body discovers that he cheated his way into the academy would be quite significant.

And the sad part was he would deserve every iota of it, simply for cheating.

The teachers would probably me more merciful... at first glance. His mother, bless her gentle soul, had a penchant for being able to deliver a verbal lashing so lasting that their entire family would be unconsciously checking themselves for scars the morning after such a traumatizing event in the Arc household. His father was stern as well, nigh unshakable when it comes to beliefs, and and iron wall when it came to discussions regarding morality; the knowledge of what was fundamentally right and wrong. The teachers here were cut from the same cloth, and if they found out, and most likely they would find out, there would be hell to pay. A very, very, _very_ thorough dressing down would await him if his deception was uncovered.

Without a doubt, after such a scolding Honesty would be at the forefront of his mind, along with integrity and rectitude. The main problem was that these people are educators by nature, and that they would make sure that he would learn his lesson, most likely by forcing him to live up to his claims. He would probably have to attend a combat school, even if his classmates would end up half a decade his junior if not younger. He would have to perform to the standards he set himself when he claimed that he was some prodigy in terms of combat and strategy.

It would forever be his shame to go through something like that, and again they could always do something worse.

If they were feeling especially spiteful, they could easily blacklist from any and every combat school and academy there was, thus denying him totally of his dream to live up to his ancestors.

He wasn't really scared of that either.

The worst of it would probably come to pass when his parents found out that he lied to enter the academy. As sure as he was that there was a small, nay infinitesimal possibility that he could keep the truth from the school, he wasn't naive enough to believe that his parents and sisters would be kept in the dark for long. Removing the fact that a woman's intuition was almost at a level of precognition, he honestly didn't know if it was a family trait limited to his mother and sisters or if it was inherent in all women, but his father was a master at quite a number of skills. Information gathering was one of them; as expected from the grandson of one of the most famous generals of all time. As soon as someone, anyone, caught wind of Jaune's secret, his father would know but a couple days later.

And yet, that wasn't really the object of his terror at that point in time.

_This wasn't the best of ideas_. He thought wearily, as he glanced around, hoping and praying to whatever gods above that somehow, he would get out of the mess alive.

And then the monster of the craft took off.

_Correction, this is probably the worst idea I've ever had... ever._ He scrambled for the complementary paper bag that should have been there. One must highlight that the words used was 'should have been,' the area before his seat, the place where the plethora of magazines and reading material, from a few novellas to magazines and the obligatory safety pamphlet, sat was missing that one important object.

Apparently, that was the day the management forgot to resupply the cabin with sickness bags.

Not the best of situations when it came to the Huntsman-in-training with arguably the worst case of motion sickness... ever.

He was next to the aisles, which was good for making quick trips to the restroom and such, but in a takeoff situation, remaining in the seats was of the utmost importance. _At least if I have to blow chunks then I don't have to decide which way to aim, on the guy on my left of the guy on the right._ He thought with resignation gained from experiencing that situation more times than he would have liked to admit. That was, until he felt a soothing sensation emanating from the person on his left.

"Try to think of something else." The confused blond turned to his left to see a boy, one who looked to be his age or a few years older than him, smiling down almost compassionately. It was probably the air sickness getting so severe that it was affecting his vision, but he could swear that there was a warm green glow enveloping the form of the boy he sat beside.

His attire was strange. Well everyone around him wore something outlandish for some reason; he himself was dressed in a combination of a breastplate, matching pauldrons and a pair of orange bracers, all worn over a comfortable black hoodie with orange inner lining. He wore fingerless gloves, because he liked the feel, reinforced with additional padding over the ball of his hand and knuckles as well as a plate that protected the back of his hand. For mobility, he wore simple rubber shoes and the most comfortable jeans he could find, foregoing all armor in favor of the most trustworthy defense he knew...

Running away.

The other people around him were dressed in equally dressed clothing. Quite a few were wearing something that looked suspiciously like what people have dubbed a 'waist cape' while he could have sworn that he saw at least six ladies in heels. One guy was decked out it full plate armor sans helmet while another person looked to be walking around with a red cloak like the getup wasn't out of style.

He saw three people in bodysuits for crying out loud.

The boy beside him looked surprisingly normal, or at least seemed to pull off the suit he was wearing. Classic black jacket left unbuttoned while a immaculate dress shirt seemed to glow in contrast to the darkness. Black slacks, dress shoes and matching belt also added to the professional, and quite reliable, air the boy excluded. Unlike his blanched blonde hair, the boy's beside him shined with a soft golden glow, and his smile seemed to further impress the image of a gentleman ready to lead a hand at a moment's notice.

Unknown to the boy, that couldn't be further from the truth.

"It seems as if you're all better now." The boy before him smiled behind lidded eyes as Jaune was shook from his reverie. He looked at the smiling blonde boy with more than a little suspicion tempered with quite an amount of surprise. _He's right... I feel perfectly fine. _He thought with wonder before shaking his head, if only to wipe the strange expression that he was sure formed on his face away.

"Well, thanks for the advice, um..." He scratched his head before putting his hand forward. "I didn't really get your name so I guess I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc."

"Narius, Narius White, a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." The boy replied with perfect poise before shaking the boy's hand with an adequate amount of pressure.

Jaune did manage to here the inserted word, and so once more he began to gaze at his seatmate with more confusion. The boy didn't seem to mind, his strange smile widening even as Jaune wondered how he could see his expression from behind lidded eyes. "What to you mean by finally exactly? I'm sure this is the first time I've ever seen you, unless you know one of my sisters?"

"Oh, no, nothing of the sort." Narius brushed of the claim with a curt gesture. "Though a friend of mine has told me quite a bit about the boy who had been causing him so much trouble. I'm sure the name Kurosaki Ichigo rings a few bells? He explained that you left... an impression on him and that you were a person he would not soon forget. Am I mistaken, Jaune?"

Jaune had frozen still when he heard the mention of the boy his mother introduced him to a few years back.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

That day he had been overjoyed when a friend of his parents, a couple named Kaiser and Nozomi, visited with another child in tow: a bright orange-haired child who wore an expression that contrasted his burning hair. Despite the strange expression the other child wore, Jaune was ecstatic. There was finally someone new, someone who had no preconceived notions of what and Arc should be.

Finally, he didn't have to hang out with his sisters and the exceedingly suffocating air of girlishness that always followed the seven girls around. At last he would have a companion that would share his dreams, his anxieties, his simple joys and his exaggerated worries. He would hang out with a boy his age and not get picked on, not be ostracized by his lack of strength of his inability to charm the other girls on the school playground they were quickly outgrowing. This was the death of the old him and his rebirth, where he would reinvent himself and become the man he was meant to be.

He was going to finally be a Hero, a real, bona fide, genuine article hero, and this boy would be the first one to acknowledge him.

He would prove that no matter what he could make another smile just as brightly as his father did for his mother whenever they talked and that boy would be his witness.

With his own power, he would cast down the shadows his father and grandfather cast, either in terms of physical or mental ability and that boy was going to rise with him as they conquer the world.

...or the local playground, but the point was that he was finally given the opportunity to show a person with no opinion of him whatsoever that he was Awesome.

Capital 'A' Awesome.

The day just seemed to go downhill from there.

The first problem was in the boy himself; to be blunt, Ichigo was a very weird kid in the eyes of the innocent Jaune. He scowled too much, and always seemed to be brooding over something, his eyes watching the area like he was looking for something. He walked with something strange too, a forced stiffness that made the blond boy scream for him to just loosen up several times and and no matter how fast Jaune himself walked, or how much he ran around, the boy who shadowed him made no sound with his footsteps.

It was way more than a little creepy.

And there there were his eyes. If it was anything Jaune absolutely hated about the boy he just met it was those god forsaken eyes. They were like deep pits of insanity, something alien, something incomprehensible to him. It was kind of like looking into a dark cave, and knowing that something was in there. Jaune didn't know if there was treasure or horrors within that cave, but there was the underlying knowledge that something hid within the boy's eyes, something that shouldn't be present in the eyes of a boy his age.

The worst of it was that it dissipated almost instantly when Ichigo noticed him staring. Like a shadow before light, it would simply vanish, to be replaced by the warm amber orbs everyone else saw. Jaune knew there was something there, he knew that there was a reason a kid his age walked, talked, hell sometimes looked, like his own grandfather in some of the worst ways, but not knowing that reason clawed at him.

The male Arc wanted to be hero more than anything, he wanted to save people in as much as his father, grandfather, and great grandfather did before him, and now he saw his chance. The only problem was that he didn't know how to help his knew playmate. In fact, if he wasn't seeing things, Ichigo didn't appreciate his efforts in the least. If anything, it looked like he got angry whenever Jaune offered to play games with him, or introduce him to some of his own friends, or joke around with him.

Okay, fine, Jaune knew that there were only two people in the entire world that appreciated his brand of humor, his mother and his father, but did Ichigo really have to get mad at the first two?

He reached his breaking point when the orange-haired boy called him out on it.

"What's wrong with being a hero?" A fed up Jaune screamed in the face of, he didn't know it yet but, one of the most powerful combatants in three dimensions, as he threw a tantrum befitting of a child his age. Ichigo simply glared back at the the blond boy a couple of inches shorter than him before shaking his head in what looked like disappointment.

"Figure it out, at least you should be able to do that much." Ichigo sighed, resignation on his face as he looked at Jaune. It was all there, pity, disappointment, and grim acceptance.

Jaune HATED that look.

He had no way of knowing, but this simply angered the unstable Jaune more. Contrary to popular belief, of his sisters mostly and some idiots in school, Jaune was far more observant that he was given credit for. Sure he didn't really understand most of the things he managed to pick up, he was as dense as a brick although some would say that was putting it delicately, but he knew enough as a kid.

This included the well hidden looks of disappointment his father would shoot him time and time again. The older Arc tried desperately to hide it, knowing that anything less that full support was detrimental to a child's growth, especially since there wasn't anything wrong with what Jaune wanted, but the boy could see that same disappointment flicker within his fathers eyes time after time.

Seeing someone as old as he was, someone who should have been his equal, looking at him like that, he just snapped.

Then came the vicious left hook. Ichigo met it with a punch of his own, striking Jaune's hand with not a second of hesitation as the blond boy screamed in rage, pain, and defiance. The wannabe hero was taken down by the blow that came after, a low sweep that used whatever momentum left in Ichigo's body to take away whatever balance Jaune had left.

He fell hard, his back striking the ground with a hard crash as the dust of the playground rose in a small cloud. With tears in his eyes, Jaune desperately gasped for breath, scrambling to get back up before a foot on his chest pinned him to the ground. Above him Ichigo looked down with what looked like outrage, something the blond found darkly amusing when it was his dream that was insulted.

"What is a hero to you?" The boy coughed as more weight was being but on his chest, the intensity of Ichigo's glare above him increasing with every second. "And take away whatever thought you have about Huntsmen and Huntresses. Take away the war, take away the battles and the monsters and tell me, what is a Hero?" Immediately he removed his foot and turned away.

Jaune thought about it. For once, he removed his thoughts of his ancestors from his mind, he removed the battles and the glory that followed, he removed the current system of Huntsmen and Huntresses and... he had nothing. He thought being a hero was to help people but then that was jut being a decent human being. He thought being a hero would mean sacrificing ones self for the greater good but the again, it would always be better to live for what you believed in instead of dying for it. Also he didn't really feel the dying was a requirement for being a hero.

"If, and that's a big if, you figure that out, the next question would be, why do you want to be a hero?" Ichigo forced him out of his daze, experience not inherent in children showing as he spoke. Jaune stood, slowly getting up from the dirt as he stared at Ichigo's back. He opened his mouth to speak, but the orangette continued. "You have to answer those two questions on your own. No one can think of them for you. No one can tell you the answers. But it's not impossible, as long as you keep trying, keep searching for your answer then you will one day find it. When that day comes, then we'll talk."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"He told me to keep an eye on you for now though, so stop looking so scared." Narius joked, lightly striking Jaune with his elbow before a small polite laugh escaped his lips.

Jaune was not ashamed to release a sigh of relief, both that the kid who took him down in two hits was not out to get him and that the aircraft finally stabilized. "I thought you were going to say he wanted me dead or something. Narius, right? Don't scare me with something like that." Jaune replied with a genuine laugh, slapping the back of the boy beside him in retaliation.

"Oh he does, he just thinks that you would do a better job at it."

"That... you're kidding right?"

"Maybe."

"Damn it, Narius, I don't want the idiot dead." Jaune's head would have been aching with the speed it twisted to face the aisle, but at that point he really didn't care.

He was scared when he last faced Ichigo, that was when they were children.

Now he was looking at a still growing teenager who towered over him, and he couldn't help but yelp at the sight of his old acquaintance.

What used to be two inches separating them more than doubled, something that would force the boy to visibly look down just to meet Jaune's eyes even if the blond decided to stand. He was dressed in a loose robe, the outer fabric dyed pure black while white peeked underneath. On his arms were tattoos, his wrists sporting black bands while thicker bands crossed over his forearms. On his chest was the same pattern, while some form on black neck armor emerged from the robe instead of a collar. He wore a white sash around his waist and a thick strap of red rosary-like segments, while on his feet were sandals instead of shoes.

His general appearance matured, his scowl no longer looking like a pout for one while his features have sharpened to the point that his glare could probably scare off even the bravest of idiots. His eyes were no longer pits, caves that hid away a danger he could not see, but burning orbs of amber hardened with inhuman resolve. Even under his loose robe, Jaune could make out muscles; nothing too large but even what was visible spoke of power far surpassing what he used to have.

Jaune was there when Ichigo took care of five bullies at least five years older than them, each of the already learning from combat schools unlike the orangette and the blond. It was a massacre in every sense of the word, but then again it was Ichigo teaching them a lesson on not picking on the weak while the teens were taking the thrashing with helpless resignation.

The child Jaune respected, one that he tried desperately to win over, was no more and in his place stood a veritable god of battle.

Though that was simply Jaune's image of Ichigo, he didn't know just how close to the mark he was.

"Um, Ichigo, It's been a while. How you been? You actually managed to get to Beacon too? Well It's not like you can't with all you can do after all." The blond stood almost immediately, his voice hitching a few steps higher as he talked in over drive. Nervous laughter escaped him as he took a reflective step back from the taller boy. It's not like he was scared of the Ichigo or anything, no definitely not that.

...He was downright terrified.

Of course, no matter how horribly he tried to hide it, of course Ichigo would see through him. "Don't worry, Its not like I'm going to punch you through the window or something. Catch." A small pouch came flying into his hands as the boy's gaze moved from Ichigo to the object before peeing inside. "I thought if you weren't bluffing, I would cover for you just this once."

"You're a bit late though, thanks anyway." Jaune replied with a smile before pocketing the medicine, the same medicine he forgot to pack in the rush to get the the ship. He smiled at Ichigo in a way he would look up to the boy who taught him quite a lot when they were together. "So since you left the village a few years ago, how are things going on your end, Mr. I-will-protect-everyone?"

"You're really asking for it aren't you?" He cracked his knuckles while Jaune waved his arms wildly, spouting apologies. In response the taller boy simply sighed. "Just sit down, Nozomi made me promise to take care of you despite your... circumstances. I would call you and idiot, if I wasn't doing the same thing." And with that the boy left, Narius in tow, Jaune falling back into his seat while he struggled to pick his jaw up from the ground.

The impossible thought crossed his mind. _Ichigo cheated too?_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo never liked dealing with Jaune.

It's not as if he hated the boy, far from it, Ichigo enjoyed his company when it was about the frivolities of normal life. If it was with Jaune, then the boy would actually open up a bit more, show a bit more emotion and act somewhat closer to normal. Ichigo was growing up again, and no matter how much he pushed himself to be an adult from the get go, he would fall back on a child or a teen's tendencies.

The fact that the blond reminded him of a certain boy he always had in some submission hold help quite a bit as well.

The problem was that Jaune was something impossible for him.

"From now on, aside from normal training, you will try to be more like Jaune!" Nozomi proclaimed excitedly one day when she intruded on one of his regular training sessions.

That was when the impossible task began. Aside from normal training, he was assigned to achieve a level of control to the extent that he could appear as weak as the clumsy Arc boy.

Suffice to say that it was some of the worst days of his life immediately after.

But that wasn't all, being a Keigo-lookalike if only in attitude, Jaune was a handful in and of himself. He would always, without fail, try and hit on girls no matter how much they expressed disinterest. No matter how much Ichigo protested, Jaune would always ask if the much, much, _much_ stronger boy could train him. Because of that, neither of them remember exactly how any times Ichigo had to beat Jaune down just to make him stop, only to heal him so his parents, the Arcs, would not wage war on him.

Jaune would whine, Jaune would cry, Jaune would suffer under others.

Even if he asked for training, Jaune wouldn't stand up for himself.

The boy who desperately wanted to be a hero, couldn't even save himself.

All of this Ichigo witnessed from a distance, his own teachers and his mother keeping him from rushing to the boy's aid whenever he was troubled. They lived a certain distance from each other after all, so it would be telling if Ichigo happened to appear whenever Jaune seemed to catch himself in a quagmire he couldn't escape alone.

The boy just seemed to refuse to grow up.

He would train himself to the limit and even then, even when he was strong, he wouldn't use that strength seriously. He had strength but he refused to trade fear for resolve, and because of that even the obscenely sharp blade his ancestors forged was dulled. He could be smarter. On the battlefield, Ichigo observed that even if he subconsciously limited his strength his intelligence and affinity to tactics shined, and yet when it came to everything else, he would preform just as well as Keigo did. Hell, if he would just be himself and chose probably, he could actually score someone one day.

But he remained a child, imprisoned in the image his father build for him; the disappointment. He remained trapped by his own insecurities, in the fears he held close to his heart.

He couldn't do anything about it either. Interacting with the boy was already pushing it, he couldn't directly intervene and snap the boy out of the slump he was stuck in. Jaune's own parents requested that he try and figure that out for himself while Nozomi agreed, Aki agreed, Tensa, Narius, and Zangetsu agreed.

So Ichigo could only watch the boy stumble in the darkness because he knew that if Jaune couldn't pull himself back up from something as simple as that, then he didn't deserve everything he had.

That on his mind, Ichigo continued wandering the airship now that the passengers could walk.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"You sure you'll be alright?" Ichigo asked the blond as they exited the ship.

They said that they had to resupply the craft before going further, so they found themselves settling down on a small island somewhere off the coast of the main continent. The students were given temporary lodging in separate areas but it was only for the night. Also there were quite a number of students from Patch as well, Signal Academy being based on the isolated island. The day after they would return to the island to complete the journey to the academy but for that night they were free to go sightseeing.

It was a rare opportunity after all to simply be children for a while before the school year began.

Immediately after landing, Jaune had ran down and kissed the ground, much to the annoyance to Ichigo and the confusion of everyone else present. After everyone managed to disembark, they were given their hotel assignments as well as the Itinerary for the next two days before they were all dismissed by the teacher present.

Most of the students went around, eager to explore area and experience the nightlife before they joined, for some returned, to the ranks of hunters-in-training. They did not need to wake up early since the actually departure time was scheduled to be sometime after lunch so it was fine if they slept in for a while. Others decided it would be best to sleep, those were students tired from the journey and simply wanting the day to end. Those were the ones who planed to go out the next day, for last minute supplies and excursions but of the daytime variety.

To the surprise of both, Jaune was part of the latter when Ichigo belonged to the former group.

It also seemed that they were to be sleeping in different hotels, in two separate ends of the districts.

Such was the reason for their current conversation.

"Yeah, my place is supposed to be somewhere not very far from here. I'm not usually and early riser so I think I'm just going to go to bed so it wouldn't take several alarms to wake me up." Jaune excused himself, his luggage on one hand while the other held his weapon and additional equipment. "How about you? What are you going to do with the free night? Maybe get another girl?" The blond asked with a sly smirk, his hand twitching, ready to activate is shield just in case Ichigo fell on his usual response as struck with with the force of a truck.

They both knew that Ichigo was faster than that, but the fact that it was late and he was prepared for the blow forced the taller boy to relent. "I have to meet with someone before going to sleep, and it's not like I can't go on one or two days without sleeping anyway. If I remember correctly, I couldn't sleep the first time I was forced to bunk in with you guys." Ichigo grumbled lightheartedly, his own luggage slung over his back like its weighed no more than a coat. "Good luck doing turning in early when you're finally free from your parents for once."

"New place, new people, new life." Jaune agreed with a soft chuckle and a grateful smile in contrast to the boy's emotionless stare. "I would probably do something like that... but not now. Not when there's so much on the line after today. Unlike someone here, I want to make a good impression on the people I meet. It's not like I'll forever stay the doormat of the school, Mr. I-don't-even-need-formal-schooling. I can finally reinvent myself, this time I can finally be somebody. I'll make everyone proud and show them that I really do deserve to be here."

Ichigo quirked an eyebrow before giving a noncommittal shrug. "You're still an idiot though. But then, I guess even idiots can have their moments at times. Don't make as big a mistake as that again and I'm sure you'll be fine." The orangette began to walk away and Jaune watched his back. The back of a person he so wanted to surpass the moment Ichigo showed his true power to him.

He couldn't help himself. "Ichigo!" The taller boy turned with an almost bored expression, though in his eyes Jaune could see worry. "You'll be helping me out this time right?"

"Of course, we're friends aren't we?" Ichigo gave him a small smile of encouragement before each lost the other in the crowd, going in the exact opposite direction as the other.

The area was quaint and gave of an impression of civility even at night, giving off a sense of security that the large walled cities usually did. For the capital of a kingdom of course safety was a concern, and as it stood, Vale was one of the most secure areas one could ever hope to inhabit. In the mornings, it was peaceful but in the evenings, the city would burst to life in the lights and sounds of the party. As it was peace had its advantages, and for many it was a good reason, and an excuse, to celebrate as much as possible.

Not up to the point of excess, Vale was a place were most of the people, discounting the increase in peaceful and violent protests alike, were quite happy with their lot in life. This inevitably was due to the Huntsmen and Huntresses that populated the area, as well as those who would call themselves students of either Beacon or Signal academy. To those who battled monsters, to those who dreamed of defending humanity from the darkness outside the walls of the city, of course petty criminals and the schemes of man would be close to nothing against their might.

These were the Huntsmen and Huntresses, those who defended the light.

Even as one of two trainees, the blond would end his day there the other went forth into the city, Ichigo still having some errands to run.

Starting with visiting a certain faunus.

Distance was not a problem for someone like him, all he really needed to know was the destination. It didn't take long for him to find an isolated area in the port, and so none was the wiser when a certain orange haired boy suddenly disappeared into the night in an almost inaudible hum. Though, any onlooker would swear than they felt a gentle breeze suddenly flow by on that windless night.

"How long have you two been waiting?" Ichigo asked as soon as he reached the corner of a street, instantly materializing an area that seemed to hold no witnesses.

All that stood was solitary streetlight, all other establishments closed for the night if not quietly operating behind closed doors. All was silent, there was not a soul that stood in the darkness of the street or even under the light of the lonely sentinel. All that stood in the light was the boy with his baggage, or at least that was what witnesses would have seen.

And then space was torn.

Underneath the streetlamp, a tear formed in the air. Light was banished as the darkness grew, stretching upwards until the shadow was as tall as a man and yet as thin as a stalk of reed. From the darkness a hand emerged and pulled on the space as if it was a curtain being shed to reveal that which lay under. Two individuals stepped forth, a man who's dress was the mirror of Ichigo's own clothing if not for the fact that it was stark white instead of unforgiving black while the other simply wore a hooded cloak.

"Not long, no need to worry." The Quincy King replied serenely as the tear in the space behind him vanished, the Demon among Hollows snorting with contempt.

"Speak for yourself, old man, when can we meet the little vermin again?" He drawled out with a bored tone before his eyes caught the sign above him. All of a sudden, his smile widened until even his maniac grin seemed tame in comparison. Obviously a creature of instinct never forgot something as important as an attempt on his life. "Well then what are we waiting for?"

"What indeed?" Narius replied before he took a step forward and reached for the handle and pulled.

It was a simple bookstore, with shelves instead of walls and piles and plies of books scattered almost haphazardly everywhere. The lights were simple and the decor was not at all especially eye catching; a typical bookstore of little not. The four of them would never have come to such a place under normal circumstances, but the sign outside caught the eye of the ever vigilant Narius when they scouted the city months ago using Tensa's ability to travel through Schatten Bereich; the shadow realm of the Quincy and their hiding place for a thousand years.

Tukson's Book Trade.

No predator worth it's salt would forget prey that had the gall to attack it, the four of them were no different. They remembered the failed assassination attempt like it was yesterday, despite the fact that it happened just a couple years shy from a decade ago. The white fox, the bespectacled mask, and the hotheaded cat; it seemed that the three thought they were safe enough to show their faces in public again.

Zangetsu only thought it appropriate that they greet the one closest to them.

The small bell on the counter chimed and in no time at all, the owner of the store came forth.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade..." He could no longer say anymore on account of the sheer blood lust Zangetsu emitted at the sight of an old enemy while Tukson fell back on techniques unforgotten, taking a step back and readying his limbs just in case any of them attacked. From the look in his eyes, even he knew it was a futile endeavor; that if any of them wanted it, Tukson would be a bloody smear.

In the past, just _one _of them was all it took to disable the three man strike team, now only one man from that same team remained and while time had not dulled his own skills, it certainly could do nothing but bolster the skills of the four that stood before him. Any defense he might mount, any attack he might perform, and form of resistance would be a simple formality.

If they wanted to kill him, he was a dead man ever since they entered the city.

There was a pregnant silence as Zangetsu in particular leered at his target with perverse pleasure, relishing every ounce of fear that flowed from the elder man just as bloodlust flowed from him. Tensa looked on passively, though azure power shined within his eyes, ready to lash out with constructs of reishi at a moments notice; against whom though was undetermined. Narius wore his smile like he always did as hands were clasp behind his back, his eyes hiding behind their lids betrayed nothing but innocence.

It was Ichigo who took a step forward, his own power drowning out whatever hostility Zangetsu forced on the elder faunus before them. "I'm assuming you remember us?"

"What do you want?" Tukson, now much older and less armed, growled in defiance, his nails growing into claws like they did before as the telltale signs of a predator about to pounce became visible on his body. "I have done nothing to threaten you, I'm leaving for Vacuo in a few months time, and have cut all ties with the White Fang. But since you're here, shouldn't you know that by now?"

Ichigo shook his head; Tukson was behaving exactly as he was supposed to. When cornered by a creature possessing more power, people tended to panic and in that panic they would do something stupid. If this was the first time, then Tukson would have no doubt leaped on top of the counter and pounced the closest of the four, and then he would proceed to take blow after blow from the Hollow who seemed to be just iching for an excuse to crush the spirit of the ex-member of the White Fang. Luckily for both parties, it was not the first time, therefore they had experience with each other.

With that experience came some sort of an understanding. Ichigo would not attack Tukson for just any reason if the latter did not try to do anything stupid like escape of fight back. Tukson would not escape or fight back because he knew that if he did, he would be dead. In doing nothing, he would ensure that he not only stays alive, but that he would gain their trust, especially since he claimed to be no longer affiliated with the White Fang.

"Relax, we know of your current situation as well as the events that led to your little disagreement with your old employers. As it stands, we don't plan to hurt you since you left that den of vermin." Tensa said almost nonchalantly, even as icy pits threatened to glare into the very soul of the faunus should he protest. "We simply wish to... request a favor."

Tukson immediately relaxed, but only in posture. His eyes belied the calculative glint of a predator, he was looking to get the most out of a deal like this. He didn't look stupid; as an operative of the White Fang he went through his fair share of tough calls. Now his life was in the balance, now that he had everything to lose, he needed to know what he had to gain from a deal with four devils.

Ichigo almost smirked when Tukson replied with one of the most stereotypical lines even for criminals. "What's in it for me?"

"I'm glad you asked." The teen replied simply as Tensa, Zangetsu, and Narius suddenly disappeared without so much as a by your leave. Ichigo gave the elder faunus a small confident smirk before he jerked his head towards the door and walked in the direction of the building's exit. Tukson followed, his footsteps ringing in contrast to the silent tread of Ichigo, but his face only showed confusion.

The boy motioned him to follow, though the reason was hidden from him. It wasn't as if he would resist if they were to kill him, he would but it would be in vain anyway. They didn't need to surprise him, they didn't even need to take him out of the shop if they wanted to dispose of him, so of course the reason for forcing him out hung heavily on his mind. That was quickly put to rest a moment later.

Ichigo shook his head when the voices reached his ears, if such sound were known to him then obviously the faunus behind him heard it. Sloppy walking, the clicking of weapons, the sliding of steel against the protective inner lining of a sheathe, final words of encouragement and the promise of debauchery before the deed was done; all these he heard through the walls and the door, forcing him to wonder just how loudly the idiots were talking outside. It wasn't anything but water off his back, he knew they were criminals after all.

Unknown to Tukson behind him, he smiled. It seemed like he would get a little bit of a warm up before he was force to go to bed.

He reached the door, and without ceremony, he opened it gently. The reaction of those on the other side was immediate.

Without a word he reached out and with his palm facing outwards, he created a barrier. A flash of light and a translucent shield tinted orange materialized from thin air, covering not just the doorway Ichigo stood in but the entire facade of the book shop, stopping each and every bullet that was fired whether it would have hit the boy or not. He gave the would be attackers some credit, no matter how much his barrier deflected, they continued pouring round after round onto him in hopes that a combined all out assault would be enough to shatter his defenses.

It didn't even leave a crack.

The orange wall dissipated as soon as the last gun clicked, each weapon having no more ammunition left to use up, and Ichigo was a blur into the mob of armed men.

The closest he dealt a punch to the chest, a blunted blow more than capable of forcing the man's torso to cave in on impact only flinging him onto his allies, disabling a total of four men from the first blow alone. He disappeared the next instant, only to materialize behind his thrown victim and toss him into the fray once more, knocking back another pair of men armed instead with swords.

None was able to react when he took a step forward, barreling through four armed with swords before kicking another gunman in the jaw, flinging him this time to a wall. He didn't mind the fact that the impact caused the wall to crater inwards, instead moving to grab a man's face, shattering the red shades he wore and slamming him face first into the ground.

He didn't need to look up when a man desperately swung a blade, a wild blow poised to behead the boy stopping short when a pair of fingers held the blade strong. The owner of the weapon stumbled back when Ichigo turned a withering glare towards him, and that man could only look dumbly when he found the flat of his own blade striking his jaw but an instant later.

At that point there were about a dozen men left, another dozen on the ground surrounding the area he stood in. He sensed their fear, their desperation and knew that the moment after they would strike would everything they had. He also knew that no matter what, it would not be enough. He intended to send the message that no matter what they did, he would be orders of magnitude above them.

The criminals of Vale never knew the strength of the Hero of the Winter War.

Ichigo showed them that power.

The first man who took a step forward was doom, Ichigo appearing in front of the criminal before he struck him. It was sloppy, haphazard, and wild, but it would do for now; the speed and ferocity at which he struck would be enough. In that instant the boy's arms were a blur, but the steady beat of punches landing and breaking bone was ever accelerating.

The victim was nothing more that a mass of muscle when the boy was done, having been struck by a thousand strikes in a single moment before he fell to the floor unconscious. Ichigo didn't let them have a moment to even look at how crush their comrade was before he brought the same judgement down on all of them. He moved faster than any of them could comprehend, and in the next moment, he was but millimeters from another's back.

If the other fell due to a massive amount of strikes and very little force, this man fell by a single strike, Ichigo's finger winding back before he released it in a massive wall of force. The finger didn't even touch the man's back, but the force was enough to shred his suit and fling him into a wall, shattering the construct like it was nothing but wet tissue paper. The man lived, he made sure of that, but that didn't mean that he would not feel such a powerful blow in the next few weeks to come.

He didn't step forward to deal with the next one, instead extending his hand once more. It twitched, at most his finger moving a single inch downward, but for such a technique it was enough. The crescent, burning with azure light, dashed towards it's target, and the man didn't even have a chance to scream before he was engulfed in an inferno of blue power. When the dust cleared and the light faded, the man was face down on the ground, fully naked and covered in burns, but fully alive and breathing.

They were nine left when he checked again just after materializing in the doorway once more. He could see the fear clearly in their eyes, the shades they wore shattered on the ground by the force of his blows, his movements themselves as well as the miniature Getsuga he fired. He could read their thoughts just as easily when he looked at their terrified expressions.

It was supposed to be easy. They were to take care of an old retired member of the White Fang. Faunus scum who had been out of practice for more than a few years, no significant combat ability to speak off. They would start with mobbing him, maybe playing around with him with their superior arms and numbers. Maybe they would start with swords and slowly torture him, and after they had their fun, they would end it with a single shot to the head. Clean, easy, and if they did it they could earn so money to spend on whatever they wanted.

It was supposed to be simple.

Ichigo decimated their numbers, eliminating half the force in the span of less than three seconds. The other three he fought man to man were dealt with in a third of that time, and each of them came out with injuries no sane man would want to suffer. Now the nine were scared, and all ten of them, Ichigo included, knew it. They were desperate, and so in a final valiant effort, they raised their swords and charged as one. Ichigo fought back the urge to gawk at them and at least let one have their attack connect.

At the very least they should have known the terrain. If Ichigo were to step back, then they would be forced to pass through the bottleneck that was the door. They could destroy it, but in that time he would have dealt with all of them easily. Not destroying that door would mean having two men enter and deal with him at a time, and Ichigo proved that twelve men could not take him down.

"I've had enough of this joke." He said quietly before swinging his left had horizontally.

The first Getsuga was small, insanely so, but it held the power to vaporize a person of Ichigo willed it. This one was at the very least larger by two orders of magnitude larger and glowed with the light that rivaled even the sun as it came rising from the horizon. In the middle of the street, night turned into day when the crescent flew forth, crashing into the nine and detonating in a massive show of power and light. The explosion was massive, and the resulting force so powerful that it pushed the bodies of already unconscious men several meters back.

The light that demanded from the center was blinding, and when it finally did subside, all that was left was a scene straight from a novel. Two dozen men lay on the ground, injuries varying from simple bruises to broken bones and even permanent burns, and yet all of them still drew breath. With a nod to acknowledge his handiwork, Ichigo turned towards the Faunus who watched from the safety of his shop looking out in awe at what the boy accomplished in less than a few minutes. Even if Ichigo knew that Tukson understood, the boy spoke, and explained the situation.

"They don't appreciate you trying to escape them, and obviously they want to tie up the last of the loose ends." Ichigo nonchalantly gestured to the mass of groaning men behind him. "This was the first wave, idiots and amateurs obviously, but next time they will sent more powerful people to exterminate you. We simply want you to keep doing what you're doing and carry on as per normal."

"Wait, so you want me to sit here and act like this never really happened?" Tukson asked, more confused than outraged when he looked out the door once more before closing it behind him.

"Basically yes. We want you to be bait."

* * *

**o0OO0****o**

* * *

"And that's how I ended up here!" The girl cheered with all the enthusiasm of a puppy before flopping back onto her chair with a thump.

Her attire was strange, something like a cross between a certain heterochomatic eyed spirit and an overgrown red-riding hood along with the signature cloak. She wore a small corset dress in Gothic Lolita fashion while a pair of combat boots were on her feet for utility. On her belt was the emblem of a rose and a spare clip, no doubt for the massive block of a weapon that was confiscated from her upon entering the room. She had the face of a child and the body to match, her features only telling of innocence despite the obvious fact that she was armed and dangerous. Her hair was predominantly black, but in a specific light it seemed to glow a beautiful red, and her eyes shined with silver starlight as she narrated her adventures before entering the room.

The boy beside her, handcuffed to the chair unlike the little girl, smiled wryly as golden eyes scanned the bare room. The room was spartan, to an extent that the only things he found of note were the bars on the window and the fact the he could count the things in the room with his two hands and have fingers to spare. The table he was chained to was stable, that he could break it but it would take some effort to do so, and the lamp that shined above them glowed with an oppressive light.

It was an interrogation room after all, it's not like he expected it to be comfortable.

"So let me get this straight, you were at some random shop when it was attacked, right?" He asked, making small talk with the child as she nodded vigorously. "And then, you bring on the pain, but one of them escapes, so then you chase after them." He began rubbing his temples as she smiled warmly, almost as if she was excited at the fact that someone else was telling her story. "Then you fight some sort of fire bi-chick comes along and fights you, but some other office lady, the one who took your 'baby', comes to the rescue. Fire girl escaped and you were dumped here, is that right?"

"Impressive huh?" The superior grin on her face was almost blinding as she crossed her arms with pride.

"I don't believe any of it." Immediately she deflated, her head cradled in her arms as she rested dejectedly on the table. If his eyes didn't deceive him, it was like she was about to cry.

"It was all true!" The was she managed to change mood every few seconds was impressive, he noted when she slammed small hands against the table, silver eyes glimmering with unshed tears. "It was so awesome, and I finally got to meet a real life huntress, my dad and uncle don't count. Those guys didn't stand a chance until they were helped by the fire... person..." She trailed off before striking her open palm with a close fist, her expression saying something like 'I remember now' or 'I almost forgot' "Wait, what about you then? What are you doing here... um... mister..."

"Zangetsu, Zangetsu Shiro." He introduced himself with an unnerving smile before it shifted into a thoughtful frown. "Well, basically I have the same story, some random guys in shades tried to attack a friend of ours and we managed to deal with it. It all ended there though, when some cops tried to ask what happened. They tried to attack us, thinking we were the ones who cause the mess, those idiots, and we defended ourselves. I think the reason I'm cuffed to the chair and you're not is that I attacked a few of them before being surrounded." He explained nonchalantly, the barest hint of anger there.

Beside him, the girl's expression shifted from one of surprise, to one of understanding and finally one of awe. "You fought off a Hunter? You didn't just meet, but you _fought off_ a Hunter?" He could only smile when she mirrored his usually expression, her eyes shining with a predatory glint while she loomed over him, despite his small frame.

Then she began to squeal like a schoolgirl. "That's so cool! Was it hard? I mean obviously you lost since you're here and all and this is a Hunter we're talking about. They had like training since birth or something and can do like anything with their minds, and they have superpowers too, with Auras and Semblances that are so awesome and cool and... wait. No, I mean how long did you last? Was it a Hunter or a Huntress? What did they do? I mean I met a Huntress who could do all sorts of things with rocks and lightning and I think some ice, anyway it was just so awesome! I wish I could- Ow!"

The girl recoiled in pain, hands rubbing the sore spot on her forehead where Zangetsu flicked her. Again tears filled her eyes but they did not fall, and even if she began to sniffle he held strong. He would not fall for crocodile tears again, especially after 'he' stopped falling victim to them years ago. "Stop with the ranting and tell me your name so we can end with introductions. Your name?"

"Oh, right, sorry." She recovered immediately, her hand shooting out towards him as she graced him with a gentle smile. "Hi, I'm Ruby, nice to meet you Zangetsu."

"The pleasure is all mine, Ruby." Zangetsu deftly tugging on his wrist, shattering the handcuffs that held him prisoner, before he shook her had with the appropriate amount of pressure. "Though I would love to stay and continue this little chat on Huntsmen and Huntresses, I'm sure watching the genuine article would be much better."

Ruby had no time to comprehend his words when the door suddenly opened, the one entering being a tall man with brown hair and a charming smile rather than the bespectacled woman with a stony expression. As soon as he laid eyes on them, his grin widened and when he spoke, it was with a voice befitting a father. "Sorry for interrupting anything." He said with a perfectly happy expression before closing the door behind him.

"Its just about to get good." Zangetsu motioned for the door with knowing smirk on his face. "I promise, listening to whats on the other side of that door is way more interesting that talking to me."

Seeing nothing wrong, she stood from her chair and walked towards the door, eyeing it with some suspicion before placing her ear against it.

"... king hell is someone like that doing in the room with a kid?"

"It's not like he's going to kill her or anything..."

"Kill her? That... that boy is capable of doing something like that? You placed a little girl, who is probably just a few years shy of graduating, in the room with a trained mercenary? Kaiser, what are you thinking? Are you even thinking anymore? I know the incident with the Schnees was a heavy blow to your standing, especially with how vengeful they are, but have you gone insane?"

"I've been insane for a while now Glynda... oi! No shooting lightning in the halls, seriously, you're a bigger risk than the boy is."

"Kaiser, I'm this close to making Nozomi extremely angry by taking away something very important to the both of you."

"Got it Ma'am, there is no need to go that far! I still want to have children you know?"

"I need an explanation."

"Oh boy... yeah, so we picked him up."

"I am aware, the fact that he is in that room right now with a child makes it quite obvious."

"You didn't, I don't know, do something like cuff him to the table, right?"

"What I may or may not have done to ensure the adorable little girl's safety is not your main concern right now, I'm waiting for my explanation."

"Right... so we picked him up in a similar situation as red in there, but he managed to apprehend all the culprits. As observed his fighting skills are up to par with some of the best Beacon is currently teaching, and when it comes to battle sense, he's top notch. I read some of his transcripts and none of them really do him justice, especially the footnote that said he had some trouble with his temper."

"I don't care why he's here, I want to know what is he doing in that room I reserved for something like this!"

"Well, obviously the police station can only accommodate so many men and interrogate them separately. The room was the safest place to put her in, unless you want her confined in the same place the criminals she fought and captured are being held? Come on Glynda, give me some credit here, I may be stupid sometimes, but I know when and where to be stupid."

"So you can guarantee here safety in there?"

"Of course, he's a lolicon after all."

"What?"

"What?" Ruby found her own voice had joined the woman's as she turned to Zangetsu, who seemed to be straining to keep his smile from turning into a very disturbing grin.

Suffice to say he was failing at it.

She couldn't keep up with what happened next, one second she was by the door and Zangetsu was sitting on the chair, quietly fuming and then the next moment, he was gone and there was no door. She caught herself before she could fully fall forward, the sudden disappearance of the door supporting her causing her to shake, and there she saw Zangetsu glaring down at the man who called him... a really strange word.

At that point, totally missing the killing intent directed at the man, she had to ask. "What's a lolicon?"

Killing intent exploded from Zangetsu's form, a force that was tactile enough to push Ruby back if only by a few inches. "You're a dead man Kaiser." He said simply before walking away, handing what was left of the handcuffs to an outraged Huntress before walking out of the hall like it was the most natural thing in the world. Cloaked with so much malice, he was virtually immune to any and all interference, the only two who stood a chance at beating him allowed him to walk free while all others at the station probably felt the same way Ruby did.

First of note was the weight of the air around her, which grew so heavy to the extent that she couldn't bring herself to stand anymore. Next was the fear, the inexplicable fear she felt of the boy she was juts happily conversing with a little while ago. Just moments before his outburst she was laughing with him and having a good time speaking with someone who actually kept up with her antics without falling short or simply giving up. Now she was terrified of him, and for some reason she couldn't figure out way. Now the thought of him scared her, as if even thinking of him would bring down his wrath.

And then, just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished without a trace.

"I'm really sorry you had to go through that." The man, Kaiser they both called him, pulled her up the the scruff of her cloak and set he down on her feet. "I think you should take a seat for now, little girl. Going through something like that, I don't blame you if you're a little bit shaken up." He then turned to the woman and flashed her a smile. "Take care of her Gylnda." And then he too left after the boy.

Silver met harlequin green before the older woman sighed. "Come along then, I'm sure you want this to be over and done with as much as I do." She said almost gently with a tranquil smile on her face, just the barest traces of resignation shining through. "Now, if I may ask, what exactly happened in that Dust shop?"

"But seriously, ma'am, do you know what a lolicon is?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

* * *

**AN**

**EDIT: NOTE TO SELF PROOF READ BEFORE POSTING, sorry about that guys. **

**It's done, finally, and I'm not just talking about the chapter here, I'm talking about my school life in general! Yeah I am free, so more updates at a faster rate! **

**AWWWWW YEEEEEAAAAAH! B))**

**Rejoice all of you who can actually understand my writing!**

**We have just entered canon phase. **

**Alright, revs before anything else.**

**To everyone who took time to review, thanks for support and constructive criticism. **

**Kragh: Finally in canon, obviously I'm about to change things up to suit my story so please look forward to it.**

**To everyone else, as a crossover this is definitely AU so if there are any discrepancies, either huge or small, the this is intended. The things that occur off-screen will be discussed but not at length since most of us, hopefully, already know most of RWBY story.**

**gate: Yes he does and here she is, no much of an appearance I would admit but at this point she's just a spring board into Canon. She'll play a bigger role later, but that's something you guys should look forward to. **

**Blud: well, this is an AU branching from thousand year arc, so I'm assuming you read until that point at least. Adding too much backstory from the bleach manga would take too much time and would be boring to the majority who already know the bleach story. I don't know about you guys, but as awesome as a fanfiction could be, it's there to do two things; edit the story to suit the author's(fan's) taste and promote the original work/s. if you have trouble following, I would suggest you read the manga first, and if you're still interested come back and read my story. It's up to you really :D**

**DR.: Well I'm not sure you'll read this but I appreciate your praise and comment. To be truthful, I know my wording is somewhat confusing, I've been trying to improve really, but the first chapter was meant to be a big mess. If one has the will, or more often than not just the curiosity, then they would carry on. If they don't then they won't. I'll be the first to admit I'm definitely not the best writer out there, but I'm trying my best and for the people who appreciate that then I have to say thanks. To those who don't I hope they find what they're looking for.**

**Comando: Chapter 8 if you're looking for the specific work, and for specific place... well I'm not telling. Sorry.**

**Chapter may seemed a bit rushed, but after watching the series again, I figured that to start canon would be a good idea since I ran out of people to influence in a way that would benefit the story. I'm not one to insert OCs willy nilly so I decided that we're going to get to the interview (RWBY episode 1 season 1) this chapter. For action we have a one sided beatdown that only Ichigo could bring as well as some humor by the only solid couple in this story as of this moment. For the Glynda Kaiser conversation, I'll leave that to your imagination.**

**Some explanation: Zangetsu, arguably the scariest and most mentally unstable is called a Lolicon because of what Kaiser sees. He started taking care of Nora a few chapters back and that was when the latter was a child and the former is about 20 mentally. If you want to include the fact that he was a part of white then somewhere in his mental 40's or something. Now he's with ruby, who is also a kid. of course this was done jokingly so it's not like it would have any real impact. **

**I am aware that by explaining the joke, I am ruining it so there's that too.**

**Anyways, thank you guys for still reading, even when I'm as late as... well late and life get's tough. Thanks for still reviewing when you guys have the time, especially who do so even when it's apparent they don't like the story. Thanks to you guys I can improve. **

**Please review, add to the respective lists on your way out and if you guys want to ask me something the I suggest PM. I will get back to you as fast as I possibly can.**

**This has been Proccit.**

**SEE YA! =))**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Light and Shadow of the Shining Beacon**

* * *

"You actually got caught." Ichigo began, his swords were gliding through the air at blinding speeds as he continued cutting at an invisible opponent. He sighed. "I don't know whether to be angry or laugh it off."

"I just wanted to see the other target. The easiest way to infiltrate any guarded compound would be to get captured after all." Zangetsu replied evenly, his own massive blade flashing through the air as he stood still, striking targets with nothing but the aftershock: the force of the sword. "They seem to be stealing dust from what I've heard, though for what reason, not even the police know."

"It could easily be for money." Tensa interjected, the black clad boy trapped in a cage of light formed by countless individual blades circling him at staggering speeds. "Hoarding will increase the demand and decrease supply, it's only natural that the prices would increase, not only in the legal areas but more specifically in the black market. They could just be looking for income."

"If it wasn't at such a scale I would believe that, but at the rate they're going, it looks like they're aiming of every single iota of Dust in the Kingdom." Narius added from the corner, his own golden aura permeating the very substance of everything in the room, reinforcing all objects from the targets Zangetsu was striking, to the walls in case accidents happen, to the very air to make it seem thicker and harder for Tensa and Ichigo to move in. "They are gearing for war, but if so, the question would be against who? To fight a single kingdom from within is almost impossible after all."

The four had made it back to the hotel in relatively high spirits. Securing the aid of Tukson, capturing criminals, and finally getting into the hotel with no major problems was enough to satisfy the four. In the privacy of their room, they continued the training they never truly stopped since finding out they were in a new world.

Zangetsu began practicing his blows, tempering ungodly power with invisible speed and flawless technique. Ichigo continued to practice his control, increasing the precision in his blows as well as improving his abilities in Kidō. Tensa fought to master the least of his skills, the bare manipulation of reishi: his goal being the ability to create or destroy an area the size of the Royal Palace on a whim. Narius continued training in the arts if Kaidō and the ability to use his reiatsu to defend.

That night was no different. While they conversed, Ichigo practiced swinging his swords, a pair of blades that were comprised of a nodachi normally strapped on his back and a katana he wore on his waist rather than the normal katana, wakizashi pair. Even so, the weight didn't hinder him, and like a certain shinigami who faced a dark skinned giant of a friend, the blades seemed to flow through the air and surround him in a tempest of steel. At the speed he was moving, it was as if he had no arms, and yet the swords never clashed against each other and continued in a smooth whirl of motion.

Unlike the failure that was defeated in a single punch by Chad, his blades sang of danger as they cut the air, each blow flashing through the air with ease and undeniable power. If anything entered the confines if that cage of steel then there would be no doubt about its fate. It would be shredded with extreme prejudice, torn apart by the maelstrom of blades that surrounded the boy's form.

To the side, and probably the one who took up the most space, was Zangetsu, swinging his own blade at regular intervals, the ensuing shock waves hurtling across the room to it's target, a pencil pointed towards him. Yes, his training involved using his released blade, an overwhelmingly huge weapon too savage and brutal looking to be called a proper sword and longer than he was tall, to sharpen a pencil. As Ichigo trained in speed, Zangetsu trained in precision and technique. The movements were lightning quick but small, with a blade that large he didn't need to do anything but twitch, and the power behind them was reduced as much as he could manage.

Even as he continued swinging, every so often he would glance to the side, and grin with satisfaction at the sight of a small container holding a dozen pencils.

Sharpened pencils.

Of course he completely ignored the remains of pulverized wood scattered everywhere.

Again, in another end of the room was Tensa, surrounded by blades crafted with light. Still they glowed, shining with faint azure and leaving trails of luminescence as they revolved around him. in all directions, more of those miniature blades formed and joined the revolving swarm, slowly until bit by bit pure azure filled the area and eliminated any sign of the black clad teen. It was only just, he thought, that he use the weapons of Äs Nödt, in a way similar to the Shinigami who owned the bankai the Stenritter of F stole. He thought that if it was possible for the Shinigami to synthesize Quincy abilities that the opposite should hold true as well. The imitation of the latter's shikai was but a fragment of the knowledge he earned and applied.

He was the greatest of them when it came to control, but even he had his limits. To have something like Gōkei hurtling around the room like a hurricane and still keep the swarm of fragments from interfering with the rest of the occupants was an achievement in and of itself.

And the last, but most instrumental to the training session, was Narius, sitting with his back against the wall with lidded eyes. He was the only one among them that seemed to do nothing as they trained though it was through him that they could even train in the first place. Using an variable version of Kidō incorporated in the training grounds of his old teachers, space was expanded to the point that what was once a small room had the volume of several olympic sized swimming pools. With reiastu the walls were reinforced so that even if any of them made a mistake, the room's integrity would not be compromised, while with Kaidō, he ensured that even if the blades of the Quincy slipped or the wave of the Hollow affected another, they were instantly restored to peak efficiency.

Normally, he would be training in Hakuda though more often that not that was done during the rare times they returned to Ichigo's inner world if not in an area several stories above the highest of buildings.

Even as they trained, lightly considering the circumstances, they spoke of war. "From within, an independent group would not be able to manage something like that, but with help, that's a different problem altogether." Narius concluded with a somewhat bored tone. "It's still of no consequence. Crushing them now won't achieve anything but slow them down at this point. As long as a head exists, then it's possible they would rise again, and worse, learn from their mistakes."

"I agree, but to just leave them be is but another extreme." Tensa interjected with a shake of his head. The wisdom earned only from experience shone in his eyes. "It took time, but we were able to gain a foothold, as well as conquer the Royal Palace itself because the Quincy were left alone to recuperate. As they are, we were inside Soul Society all along as well. They will have the luxury of intelligence while their activities will remain hidden to us."

"But that's the entire reason we hired the mole-cat right?" Zangetsu called over the sound of his sword smashing into the ground, though thanks to Narius' efforts, the floor remained pristine. "They'll go to him, if they don't try to kill him we get info. If they do, we fake his death then we get info. Win-win, so no problem. If any idiot tries to get in the way, I can just... take care of them."

"No consuming souls, Zangetsu." Ichigo intoned firmly, sheathing both his swords before he turned to Narius and nodded once. The unknown seemed to get the message and the glow that surrounded the room intensified for a moment before revealing a normal hotel room for four. "The plan hasn't changed. We're here to learn how to fix this problem, the one regarding the city's Dust as well as Grimm in general. Don't forget why we're entering an Academy in the first place."

"We went because you're going Idiot King, is there any other reason to go?" Zangetsu heckled before fading away in a flash of white.

"We are your swords, Ichigo, as well as your soul. It's only natural we go where you do." In a rare moment of weakness, Tensa agreed with the Hollow and lightly jeered the boy just as his form dissolved into fragments of reishi.

"All that is needed is that you remember why you're here, why you were given that name." Narius was the last to leave, chuckling darkly before he reached for the light switch and flicked it down.

Even in the darkness, Ichigo knew they were gone, and so he climbed into bed and fell asleep alone.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

The of the night rest came and went without much fuss and before they knew it, every student was once again on an airship towards Vale's greatest training academy. On one of the many viewing decks located on one particular airship, Ichigo couldn't help but wonder if the excitement in the air, the awe of students as they explored the sights, and the underlying pride they each held at being accepted was something akin to what students felt when they entered the Shino Academy. He had heard stories from long past, from both students and teachers...

Though his train of was quickly derailed by something not even he could expect.

Namely a person crashing into him with enough force to send them both hurtling towards the windows. The force was such that even if he was a student trained in combat schools across the world, he wouldn't have been able to stop such a veritable battering ram as it crashed against his side. He was sure that it would take more than an ordinary student to divert the impact enough that they wouldn't end up plunging to the ground from who knows how high they were, much less stop the incoming force outright.

Luckily, he was definitely not just an ordinary student.

Though he couldn't fully stop whoever was flung at him, he was quite sure no one would jump another student at that speed without reason, he was able to redirect most of the force that they traveled a meter back at most, far from any of the viewing windows. He wasn't perfect though, and the surprise took away most of the grace from his maneuver, landing him in a somewhat compromising position with the offending party on all fours, looming over his fallen body. At that point, he almost wished that they crashed against the window and fell from the heavens.

This was the case primarily because he couldn't punch the clumsy offender hovering above him. No matter how annoyed he was, he wouldn't be caught punching a girl who wasn't trying to kill him.

She was dressed in the strange fashion like most in the area, a sleeveless white top with a heart-shaped opening above her valley hugged her figure snugly under a short black over-garment resembling a vest with a high collar. A bright steel harness-like frame was worn over her clothes, while multicolored armor guarded her abdomen. He could make out the short pink skirt she wore as well as the pair of legs that seemed to trail from under it, despite the sheer difference in height.

He didn't pay those much attention, nor were his eyes on the little window she left on her chest, he wasn't a pervert after all. No, his eyes were glaring holes through the girl's unrepentant smile, while her bright turquoise eyes shrugged off his own dark expression. Her features were those of a teenager just entering her youth but her expression was of an innocent child that did no wrong. Her orange hair told him enough, as long as that was in his line of sight, he would have no peace.

"Whoops." She mumbled, eyes twinkling mischievously while she smiled at him without a hint of regret coloring her voice or expression.

"Whoops? That's all you can say right now, whoops?" He breathed tiredly, as if he knew all of his patience would inevitably be used up in that small conversation.

"Sorry, my plan failed." Though she apologized, even he knew that it was just lip service, or that she was sorry that things didn't happen the way it was supposed to. He wouldn't be surprised if she was apologizing that she _didn't_ throw him through the window.

"Plan?" He quirked an eyebrow, undoubtedly curious as to what she was planning. Her thought process was strange to say the least. From his experience, it varied from unbelievably straightforward to vexingly roundabout.

"Yeah! I was going to throw you out of the airship..." She confessed just as quickly, unable to finish he statement when he raised his voice.

"Wait a moment, time out. You were going to WHAT?" He shouted, more out of confusion than outrage at her plan. Her reaction was far more underwhelming than he expected. Most beings would have been trembling in fear while she...

"The windows shouldn't be that hard to break, and if I ran fast enough I'm sure I could break through them..." She simply continued explaining her intention as if nothing happened. She didn't even have the decency to look a tad bit worried.

"Why the hell would you want to throw me out of the airship." Anyone would be angry at that point, and for good cause. Confronting a person who attempted to murder him, Ichigo was expecting something closer to rage or arrogance. The girl in front of him was talking as if it was it was as normal as talking about the weather. _What kind of people allowed nut cases to be Hunters again?_

"I wanted to see you fly again!" She sang like it was the most obvious thing in the world, eyes shining with wonder and a beaming grin playing on her lips.

Ichigo was, at that point, at a loss for words at her seemingly impossible level of innocence. "And if I couldn't fly?" He held back a sigh, he already knew what she would say.

"Then we would die together!" She answered without hesitation, though this time she seemed to draw back for a while and thought about what she said. "Wait, no that would be bad, but you can fly Ichi-Ichi scratch-scratch, right? You may have gotten a a lot taller but you haven't changed a bit!" It only took a second though, her smile returned the moment after, shining brighter than ever.

"Unfortunately, the same goes for you. You're still as hyper as ever Nora." He gave up, giving the girl a wry smile as he finally found the strength to push her off of him. Nora didn't seem to mind, using the strength used to shove her off as a spring board before landing on her feet like it wasn't anyone's business. "Why did I think that I could run away from you here?"

"That's silly, Ichi." His eyebrow twitched when she said the name his mother used much to often but he had long since given up having her change it. "Remember? I said that even if you escaped to the sky, I would find you! The we could finally fly together! You never really did tell me how you could do that, you know? My dad says it's rude to keep a girl waiting and all? So tell me, How do you do it?"

"I can't fly Nora. If I told you that once, I've lost count how many other times I said it." Unfazed, Ichigo faced down her salvo of questions. That remark was special in itself since they only met at most once a year because of the relationship her family shared with Kaiser. For him to lose count compared to how often they met, the ratio was just too much.

"Eh? But I was so sure that one time!" She complained quite childishly, pouting with as much force as a kicked puppy. Much to his chagrin, it seemed that she didn't forget the first time they met just yet. If it was her that it was almost impossible that she would ever forget. Despite the height difference she grabbed his shoulders and began shaking him. "Come on, Ichi! Just tell me already!"

He had to pause for a moment and marvel at how much stronger she had grown, before he was literally shaken out of that stupor. With a bit of effort, he escaped her clutches. "Stop it already, people are staring." He said rather forcefully, allowing a bit of power into his voice and finally forcing her to keep still. "Now, how have you been since we last met?"

"Geez, switching from your scary voice so quickly. I will get that secret out of you, you know?" She quipped in defiance while sticking out her tongue. She rested her cheek on her fist in thought for a moment before her grin returned, though this time it had an unmistakable resemblance to Zangetsu's. "I'm gonna use my weapon now! It's a giant hammer and it's so cool! I might actually win this time."

He smiled wryly at the thought.

Since he discovered that she rode a Goddamn Ursa back when she and Zangetsu got lost the first time, he was wary of her. It would only be a matter of time before she began to pick a fight with him. Of course Zangetsu would push her to do it while Tensa and Narius would be content to watch just how far he learned how to control his own significant power.

To keep the story short, she never won once, and so every year, whenever they met, she would challenge him.

It would always grow longer, both of them growing when it came to skill and overall combat sense, but never did it involve weaponry.

Apparently, after being defeated so many times, she would finally bring it out.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." She struck her palm with her fist before running out of the room, bumping into almost every student in her path before reaching the door. He didn't even have enough time to think about what just happened, when she returned in the exact same manner, though this time with a long haired boy in tow. "I finally brought him with me! You two should get to know each other!"

For a moment, the boy she practically dragged in was in a daze, shooting Nora a rather disapproving look. That was until their eyes met. Ichigo couldn't help himself. "I thought she was kidding around when she said you had pink eyes."

They boy looked rather stunned for a moment, before he raised a noble eyebrow and replied in a tone befitting the captain of the sixth division. "I could say the same to you in regards to having hair even brighter than hers."

"Walked right into that then." Ichigo was the first to resign, not wanting Nora to get any ideas while they threw jokes at the other's appearance. He offered his hand in good humor as his scowl lightened significantly. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Last name first if Nora's nagging about 'someone else who has the same weird family naming mumbo-jumbo' is to be trusted." The boy easily took his hand and gave it a good shake. "Lie Ren, a pleasure."

When Ichigo saw Ren for the very first time, despite his haggard and troubled look, he assumed an appearance closest to the incumbent Captain of the Assassination Squad. Dressed in an undeniably oriental tailcoat, the mandarin collar was enough of a hint, and long white slacks he gave the impression of a martial arts master in a world that seemed to revolve around the prowess of weapons and technology. From the loose ponytail, to the sleeves that betrayed some hidden weapon, he appeared like an assassin from the east, while his body, even while fighting against the storm of energy known as Nora, seemed to be ready to jump out and strike like a viper at a moments notice.

His face... wasn't so intimidating.

Frankly he looked like a pretty boy, once totally unsuited for combat, or one of those anime protagonists Keigo always wailed about during their early high school days. The look in his eyes could also be likened to Ishida's, a critical perspective on everything and anything and yet not totally heartless. They were pink as well, and in terms of strange colors he encountered over the years, that definitely takes the cake.

When seeing something like that, he could only think of the pink-haired vice captain of the Eleventh Division: a cute little girl.

"Can I ask you something?" Ichigo's voice suddenly took a serious tone as he drew his hand back, what was once a light-heated conversation suddenly turning dark.

"Technically you already did but don't let me stop you." Ren on his part, didn't seem too affected by the strange air the conversation took, and attempted to inject humor. As Ichigo remained stone-faced, Ren simply nodded, motioning the taller boy to continue.

"How do you deal with her?" Ichigo thought it was a good question, everything considered.

First Nora was a walking disaster. She was a child on a constant sugar high with the body of, well her name says it all, a Valkyrie. When she moves, and she always moves, you can bet that something, somehow, somewhere in her vicinity, falls apart or crashes hilariously. Case in point, the boy being dragged towards them and several students _still_ in a daze and picking themselves up from the ground. It had gotten so out of hand that even if they met only once a year, and just for a few days at most, Ichigo would be even more tired than after the entire month of training he needed to beat Aizen.

Ren was her childhood friend. Even without meeting him, the girl could drone on endlessly about him and how much fun they had together. "but not together-together," she would always amend before going on and on about some other impossible adventure that more than likely had been blown out of proportion and only occurred in her head. Finally meeting the boy, it would only be prudent that Ichigo seek the advice of the expert in dealing with the bundle of energy. It was only common sense that, through virtue of experience and proximity, he was more adept at dealing with her.

That was also the reason Ichigo couldn't quite figure out why Ren began chuckling after he asked the question. Ichigo could only look down at Nora who looked as confused as she could be, all the times Ursai faint under her aside. "Did I break him or did you on the way here?"

"I'm sure he was working fine this morning." Nora mumbled more to herself before approaching the boy's ear and cupping her hands. "HEY REN-" She screamed at the top of her lungs before the boy jumped in equal parts pain and surprise and slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Nora, I'm fine, just don't do that again." He chided quite gently as she nodded behind his hand. "You seriously think I can deal with something like her everyday if I haven't given up yet?" He replied sardonically, a pair of fingers curling around the lone pink fringe on his head.

"Point taken. Why?"

"She insisted that my eyes should match the hair." Ren explained tiredly, reaching into his pocket to wipe his hand on a kerchief he kept before returning to face the boy. "I couldn't sleep for weeks until I finally agreed to it."

"Though by that logic, shouldn't her hair be, I don't know, blue or something?" Ichigo could only ask, no longer being driven by hope but only curiosity.

"Don't try to use logic on Nora." Ren sighed exasperatedly. "Second, let's just say you don't want to know what happened."

"I'll take your word for it then."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Can I trouble you for the title?"

It took all her will to keep herself from jumping when she heard the voice that spoke from somewhere much too close for comfort.

To be fair, the one speaking to her, a boy dressed in a simple black coat, was standing at a respectful distance away; within arm's reach, but that wasn't the point. The point was he managed to slip within arm's reach without her noticing.

She was hiding after all, and living as a fugitive, either being chased by the government and more recently her ex-affiliates, gave one a certain set of skills born of paranoia. When she was still an operative, she prided herself at being extremely sensitive to her surroundings. After fleeing from them for quite a while, those skills have been sharpened to such a degree that probably only a trained infiltrator such as herself would be able to catch her off guard. She could see, hear, and sometimes even feel, everything that happened around her, from the footsteps of others to the sounds of the doors opening and closing, even some of the words students were exchanging all around her.

Everything except the boy standing expectantly before her.

Lifting her eyes from the pages of her book as naturally as possible, yellow orbs bet sharp azure, and she had to once again repress every instinct screaming at her.

When she first heard his voice, the first thing that came to her mind in the state of hyperarousal was the first of options.

Fight.

She was raised outside the kingdoms, it came with the territory that even civilians were able to at least drive away a single Beowolf. She learned how to fight from the best they had to offer and she bloomed into a warrior strong enough to claim that the test she undertook to enter Beacon was easy. At least when it came to one-on-one battles, she was confident that she wouldn't lose easily, and even if she did, it would be a battle of attrition rather than one of skill alone.

That was until her eyes looked into his and she saw...

Nothing.

He had no presence to speak of, no overbearing air of self-importance or nervousness that most of the students around her wore like a safety blanket. Of course, she have didn't have much of a presence either, but her circumstances were extreme in that she had to hide herself to survive, running from both monsters and man. One didn't just managed to lose all trace of oneself, but he stood there, hiding in plain sight like it was the most regular thing in the entire world.

She still felt the security of being alone. She still knew, in her heart of hearts, that she was safe and those who were after her were not here in the same airship she was traveling on. But somewhere there, she felt that she was all alone. She felt that there was literally _no one in the immediate surrounding area_. The very fact that he was in front of her made her doubt her senses.

After a moment of thought her response changed.

Flight.

She couldn't do anything through, pinned to her chair as he once again spoke. "My sincerest apologies, I had forgotten the introductions." He elegantly shifted into a shallow bow, not deep enough to convey fidelity but not slight enough to show disrespect. "I am Brennan Delacroix, a fellow incoming freshman here at Beacon. And you are?" He leveled his gaze at her once more, though this time there was a friendly, almost fatherly, glow within his once cold azure eyes.

She lowered her book, giving him a brief nod before she followed suit. "Blake, Blake Belladonna, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She spoke as naturally as she could, attempting to inject some impatience in her voice to make it seem that she wanted to return to her reading rather that speak to him. It was difficult though, for some reason there was an instinctual fear she felt while speaking to him, as if they had encountered each other before.

If he did manage to read the atmosphere as well as she thought he did, she was thankful he didn't comment to the second emotion. "Ah yes, again, I must apologize for taking up your time but would you mind telling me the title of that book? It's getting exceedingly rare to find fellow book readers these days now that it's become common practice to simply look for files and view them from a scroll."

"Ah... right." She honestly did not have a proper response to that. She was a reader and books would be her companions more often than not, but her love for them was born form necessity. She just couldn't relate to those who simply chose to read because they wanted to. There was a gap between them, the level of intensity, the need being absent in the latter group more often than not.

Quite frankly, one rarely had anyone to talk to when on the run, especially as she fled both faunus-kind and humanity, alone. From the forests teeming with Grimm to the urban jungles necessity demanded she enter, she was alone. In the beginning it was all good, as the silence always reminded her of safety and security, but as time passed despair whispered into his ears. Fears grew and insecurities gnawed at her spirit and slowly but surely her resolve fell.

In the span of weeks the silence became deafening, and there was no one she could turn to.

Then she found a book, incidentally, it was the same old worn book she held in her hands.

On that day she read, read like it was the only way to stop herself from drowning in the silence she enclosed herself in. There she found solace in a piece of fiction, an imagined story that, for the strangest of reasons, seemed to mirror her own experiences. She finished the first volume in a single sitting, and while the story of a boy, rejected by society because of circumstances beyond his control, stayed fresh in her mind, she renewed her resolve.

She wanted to change the system as well, make it so that humans and faunus would be able to live together in peace and harmony. Come hell or high water she would make that pipe dream a reality.

In the end though, she was happy to share the work that literally served as the reason she was there. "It's part of the Nephililm Saga by Ulric F. Charioteer, the first one actually."

Azure seemed to twinkle for a moment before he took the seat next to her, a mildly excited smile forming. "Ah, Sweet Death was it? That's a titled I haven't heard of in quite a while. If I'm not mistaken it's still ongoing, is it not?"

With that statement, most of her fear dissipated. Sure she was suspicious, but then she was suspicious of everybody. "Yes, for some reason, the author publishes the books at irregular intervals, and people are saying that it could come out tomorrow or in the next half decade." She grumbled in an annoyed tone. "The man's a genius when it comes to writing, but sometimes it's like he wants to tear my heart out with how often he publishes his works."

She should know about the books, though she started reading quite late, it seemed that it started being written quite a few months after she was born. There were at present 9 books, but as it turned out the schedule of the author was as crazy as it got. On average, the time to took between the books hit the shelves was roughly a year, but it seemed that the longest time lag was around half a decade. It was frustrating at times, and even her patience was tested from time to time.

It wasn't even her favorite book series. If the author of the Ninjas of Love did something like that, she would lose it.

"Yes, he is quite the eccentric it seems, when the popularity of the books should at least push him to publish more... regularly." Brennan agreed with a smile before motioning for the book. Reluctantly, Blake handed him over, but it turned out she had nothing to fear from him. With a delicate touch, he took the book and flipped through the pages, a nostalgic look was present on his face as he skimmed through the beginning chapters. "The beginning was always shaky for me, it always seemed so fixated on one facet of the protagonist. His 'Angel' side, so to speak, only appeared in the seventh book, it was quite a surprise to most."

"A little into it the explanation is given and most of the questions that have been plaguing the series are answered, so it's not much of a big deal." Blake waved it off in passing. Sure it may have been quite confusing at first but after that, everything made sense after she read it again a few times. They even brought back a character long dead so in her opinion it wasn't as bad of a move as some made it out to be. "The reveal was done quite well and the plot was advanced in such a way that now people could read the past books with a different perspective. The actions of other characters seem to make more sense when factoring in the dual heritage of the protagonist." There was also the issue about him saying 'The Protagonist'

Shin had a name, dammit.

"There is also the issue on the... more explicit parts. At least he had the decency to fade to black more often than not, but it seems forced at times." Brennan stopped at a certain passage and glossed over it with a tinge of disgust. "The protagonist doesn't seem like that time to, ahem, 'embrace her till the night gave way to daylight.' Your thoughts on the matter?"

Brennan probably didn't know it, but as soon as he mentioned explicit, Blake had been dyed a very deep shade of red and made for the door at a speed that could put bullets to shame. When he turned around, all he saw was a shadow of the girl he conversed with, slowly fading away. If one looked closely, even the Shadow was tinted a bright red, though one could never be too sure with how fast it vanished, leaving the boy sitting alone with the book in his hands.

"You forgot this." He stated simply, offering the book to open air with a strained smile before it seemingly vanished right before her eyes.

"I knew some people are into this kind of stuff, but this is getting ridiculous." Brennan muttered to himself before rising from his seat and walking towards one of the windows.

Blake, hearing everything from the other side of the room, turned a darker shade of red before disappearing in a blur of motion.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Yang was never the most... stable of people when it came to emotions.

Having an affinity for flame, the girl was as fickle as they came, easily switching from anger to sorrow, and from warm joy to cold indifference. She was volatile, easy to rile up and easy to let down, that the types of people who get along with her were those of like mind, or those who just didn't care. If one hung out with Yang Xiao Long, they would either just get burned trying to clash with her or go along for the ride with a grin on their faces.

She insisted it was one of her strong points.

Even as she stood in the middle of one of the many viewing decks of the airship, she was reeling from the roller-coaster ride of emotions she still hadn't fully finished when she started the night before.

To explain, one must start from the beginning.

At first she was happy: she was going to Beacon after all, one couldn't not be a little bit giddy after such a crowning achievement. It was one of those times her father excused himself from work and her Uncle was there willing to take the all out for the night on the town. From good food and good company, to maybe a little drink or ten when Ruby finally decided to go home of polish her baby of something, Yang was confident that nothing would stand in her way of having a good time before she left the nest, spread her wings and rocketed to the _sun._

While some people shot for the moon, she always aimed for the brightest thing in the sky, but that's beside the point.

One ring later and her perfect night, along with her mood, was in pieces.

She received a message from Beacon, reminding her that the flight would be sometime after lunch the very next day. It also included a friendly reminder of things to bring, from school supplies and other boring stuff to items that are required for weapon maintenance like oils, round, and Dust. It was important to note that she didn't have anything the list prescribed, not even a ready set of underwear she would take on her trip to Beacon.

Happiness was shoved aside to make room for annoyance, mostly at the message that ruined her great night with her family. Instead of a last hurrah with debauchery and awesome, she was forced to go on an extended supply run that would have taken so long alone, she had to bring her little Ruby to help lighten the load. The list wasn't the main cause of her annoyance, and neither was it the fact that her uncle began nagging about her lack of preparation and stuff... again. Still, it would have been worse without her little sister to calm her down, so as a treat for the little angel, Yang left her at her favorite dust shop, where the kind old man would allow her to browse through her favorite weapon magazines.

It took another three hours to get everything she needed, but when she returned to the dust shop, she stumbled upon a scene where broken glass and fallen bodies were scattered everywhere.

Talking to the old man turned annoyance into worry.

She would have been proud if it ended with her sister beating the hell out of Junior's henchmen, she recognized the red shades and black suits anywhere, but she just had to go on and chase the asshole who tried to rob her. That little decision, escalated into an even bigger fight with a Dustmage who could make fire out all things and who was so good that her sister needed to be saved by a Huntress.

She could see it play out in her mind right that second.

Ruby would be in danger, most likely something life threatening when from out of nowhere, probably from the sky or something, the Huntress swoops in and saves the day. Then some titanic battle with fire, steel and whatever the Huntress brought to the party would unfold, whether they win or lose was not important, the point was they would survive and it would be awesome. In the aftermath her sister would look the Huntress in the eye and do what any girl would do.

She would ask for an autograph.

Then shit would hit the fan.

Hard.

Make no mistake, Yang knew that Hunters, both Huntsmen and Huntresses, were some of the coolest people in the entire world. They were, at times, awesomeness incarnate, case in point, her dad, her uncle and the friends they brought sometimes at parties and family get-togethers. But, unfortunately, that only seemed to apply when they were off-duty and things were going fine. When push comes to shove, she knew that they could be the most serious people when it came to laying down the law. From experience, she knew that her father was heartless when it came to punishment time, like when she was caught doing something stupid and dragging Ruby with her in the process.

She knew that no matter how cute her little sister was, not even Ruby would be able to charm a Huntress on duty.

If this was anything else, she would have been proud and happy that it happened. She would have rushed home first, told it off to her dad that Ruby was going to juvie before she was, then go and rescue her sister from the clutches of the Law. But this was a Huntress they were talking about, and the only thing that would have a chance at piercing the bloody iron walls they built around their hearts were two little girls begging for mercy along with two Huntsmen backing them up. She put down her visor and mounted her trusty bike for what may be the last time and went off like a bullet.

She ignored all traffic laws, called up her dad, and rushed the police station as fast as humanly possible. It got to the point where officers began chasing her and inevitably gave up when the realized where she was going. Needless to say, she was caught by the time she came to a full stop, but at that moment she didn't really care and began shouting for her sister. Officers weren't nearly as heartless as Hunters so while bringing her in, they told her that her sister was safe and was in one of the rooms talking to, not one, but _three_ Hunters, a pair of Huntsmen and a Huntress respectively.

That was the exact situation she was trying to avoid.

To make matters worse, she didn't even get seated yet when a freight train decided to crash on top of the police station. Okay, maybe that wasn't exactly what happened, but it might as well have as everyone in the building, or at least within her sight, crashed to the floor without warning. At that time she wished she was still an eight year old girl dragging Ruby around in a wagon behind her before they were abut to be attacked by a pack of Beowolves because even that didn't make her feel as much fear as she felt when the strange black miasma filled the air.

She thought she caught a glance of a boy in white storming out of the police station, not even giving their fallen forms a second glance before the weight disappeared and she lost consciousness.

Whether if it was for a second, a minute, an hour, or even a day, she really didn't know. All she did know was that she woke up, ironically resting her head on her little sister's lap, and Ruby was smiling down at her with the biggest grin she's seen on her since she completed her baby as showed it off for the very first time. She would never forget the first words that left her mouth when she asked her sister what was going on.

"I'm going to Beacon with you, sis."

Her excitement was such that she didn't care that her dad chewed her up and spat her out when they got home, and that it endured even until she got to the airship.

But even such happiness, that endured more than six hours mind you, had limits.

That limit was reached when some viscous liquid touched the tips of her glorious, once immaculate mane.

There was very little that could truly force Yang to blow her top.

No wait, there were quite a lot of things that would convince Yang to blow her top.

There was very little that could truly anger the Little Dragon of the Sun, but when she was angry, more often than not, things tended to be set on fire.

That was a situation everyone wanted to avoid, especially since now they were airborne.

So here she was, glaring up at a boy that could easily be mistaken as a gender-bent version of her while he sincerely apologized "I am very sorry for my friend's lack of... stomach control."

The boy was tall, taller than her, and quite cute if she was being honest with herself, but as her hair had been sullied, all she thought of at that moment in time was finding someone, or something, to vent her anger on. The scraggly boy who was the cause of the entire conundrum rushed to the washroom to blow chunks while the blond boy in a suit held down the fort and tried to placate her before she blew the ship to smithereens.

Again, with blond hair that reflected the light wonderfully, even as her own golden mane was wreathed in flames, and crimson eyes just as enchanting as her own, he could have easily been a target to her advances.

But that only applied if he didn't cover for the ass who managed to get puke on her hair.

She was about three seconds from introducing his cute face to her flaming fist if her sister didn't speak up.

"Ahh! Sis, he said he was sorry, right?" The cute little girl she would always love, Ruby, began frantically waving her arms as she tried to calm down the raging firestorm that was Yang Xiao Long. "Can you, I don't know, wait for us to land before blowing something up. Please." Even as she used those silver eyes that could melt glacial hearts, Yang continued to glare at the boy who dared to stand in the way of her prey.

"It is as your sister said, we are currently airborne, and so it would not be wise to cause commotion enough to endanger everyone on the ship." The bastard had the balls to act all calm and composed even as she promised holy hell with her eyes. "If it would be any consolation through, I would be glad to take any..." She didn't let him finish, instead she threw what should have been the first of many punches, powered by her literal flames of wrath.

'Should' being the operative term of course.

Ruby beside her couldn't even scream when the punch landed, except what should have been a burst of flame and unbridled force was reduced to a light tap on the stomach.

Rage was quickly replaced by curiosity.

She could feel that punch, while not enough to kill, it should have at least lifted him up and flung him across the room, and yet it seemed to do nothing more than tap him on the abdomen. Even her flames were extinguished. Being faced by a force only slightly more powerful, the burst had no choice but to collapse on itself and even reduce the full force of her punch into some harmless lovetap. All of that happened in an instant, and when what was now lilac met glittering crimson, Yang could see that the boy knew exactly what he did.

If she was honest with herself, he seemed to be daring her to try again. "Satisfied?" he asked with a level tone, but an expert such as herself could spy the teasing glance he showed her from a mile away.

"Not even close, pretty boy, but I'm not going to be blowing up any time soon so you can relax a bit." She replied with a cleansing breath, lowering her arms from her stance before crossing them under her admittedly generous chest. "Not from around here are you?"

"I would imagine someone as _fiery_ as yourself would be quite well known around here, did that give it away?" She raised her eyebrow at such a nonchalant reply, though his words and his lack of tone could be seen as a challenge.

_You want to play hardball, cutie? Let's play._

"I would say the clothes, they don't really _suit_ the people around here." She replied with a mischievous grin, deliberately ignoring the multitude of people, her sister included, groaning in the background.

"I would apologize for that but I happen to like looking good." He explained with a serious expression while gloved hands straightened his jacket. "I'm sure someone who's hair is her _main_ concern should understand."

"Cut me some _slack, _I'm just calling it as I see it." She easily warded off his attack while launching her own, much to the chagrin of everyone listening in on the conversation. "Not trying to start another fight here."

"I guess I'm in the wrong as well." He agreed with a smile, one that, for some odd reason, made her feel confused about the situation. She would ask ruby later and figure out that he was wearing the smug smirk she would wear whenever they played World of Remnant. "I'm sure that if I had _read_ the atmosphere instead of thoughtlessly speaking, we could have resolved things peacefully instead of getting _violent_."

"No, I'm sure it's my fault for _exploding_ first." Though she was apologizing, her delicate eyebrows were furrowed in frustration. He was going on two at a time when she had run out of ammunition.

_Maybe a break wouldn't hurt, It's not like he could go very long without material either._

"I would say it was my friend's fault thought, you could say he really _blew_ it." He tried to ease her expression with a slight chuckle, unknowingly adding fuel to the fire. "I'm sure he's _cleaning up _his act right about now, but even if she got back here I'm sure he would be _green _with envy. Not everyone would walk up and talk to such a _hot_ girl after all, but i'm sure that they just want to avoid getting _burned. _The name's Narius by the way, a pleasure to make you're acquaintance."

"Yang, nice to meet you too." She grumbled in defeat before turning to her sister, who was, surprise surprise, looking at Narius with new found respect.

She was the one who pushed a person to fume in annoyance, now that the shoe is on the other foot, she felt that it was something like a learning experience. She wouldn't back down though, the next time she would be forced to clash with the blond boy with ruby eyes, she was sure that she was going to win.

She would let her sister swoon over him, as long as it was because this was the first time she saw someone beat her older sister in a game no one would dare play. More than the protective instinct she felt as an older sister, she felt that her throne was in danger, and as the queen, she knew that she would have to fight for her right to rule.

"That was soooo awesome!" Her little sister, Ruby squealed, though it wasn't for anything too serious. "You actually beat Yang in a pun-off, that just doesn't happen! I mean, sure, you're puns were just as bad as hers but you forced her to stop! That was just so cool! I'm Ruby, Yang's little sister, and sorry that she punched you, it's just that vomit boy accidentally puked on her hair and Yang love's her hair more than life itself, but that doesn't matter cause you blocked it with your-oww"

"Ruby, chill." Yang bopped her on the head lightly before drawing her close and ruffling her hair. "Sorry about this one, she's not usually this talkative with other people."

"Says you!" Ruby protested from under her hand to stick her tongue out adorably. "Sorry about Yang punching you in the gut, she just reeeaaaally likes her hair. Wait, I already said that. Sorry..." As quickly as she started spewing words faster than she could shoot her baby, she finally reverted to her lovable yet admittedly socially awkward personality. As a person who loved using her weapon to solve her problems, she was never really got used to human communication and instead of talking animatedly all the time, she only showed that facet to those she was already close with or people she idolized.

Yang assumed Narius entered the latter category after beating her, only barely of course, in a pun-off.

The crimson-eyed boy however didn't seem to think much of her sister's bipolar performance and instead decided to simply laugh it off. "No need to apologize, though I am wondering, what's an adorable little girl doing in a place designed to train warriors, two years too early?"

"Funny you should ask something like that, Professor Ozpin basically said the same thing." Ruby replied nervously as she scratched her head. Or rather, poked at Yang's arm to get the older girl to scratch her head for her.

_Lazy little Rubes. _She thought, though she complied anyway.

"Do tell... is what I would like to say, though as it turns out we've finally arrived." Narius said with a wistful air.

Not a moment later, Yang felt the ship ease into a halt before the speakers blared for the students to disembark.

_Well at least Ruby isn't totally alone._ She thought while they left the ship, the blond-haired boy they met already leaving for the washroom to fetch his still suffering companion. _Now to deal with her people problem. _

The poor girl wouldn't know just how wrong her plan would go.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ruby would be lying if she said she wasn't worried.

Getting in two whole freaking years earlier than normal happened to do that to people. Though more than the two years of knowledge she would have to catch up on, the duels with people who had two years worth of training over her, and the actual live Grimm killing they had instead of safe mock battles, Ruby was more afraid of having to deal with the people would definitely treat her differently.

Apparently there were two types of people she could meet, the first who would coddle her like a little girl and the second who would scorn her for 'cheating' her way in so to speak.

Though right now in the face of her current situation, there was something much more important occupying her mind.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this." Her sister breathed, awe definitely apparent in her voice.

In the eyes of the little girl who always wanted to be a Huntress, that was an understatement.

_BEACON IS SO AWESOME!_

Ruby could practically hear an entire orchestra playing in the background as she took in the castle-like silhouette of the Academy before her eyes. It was here she would train to become the best Huntress she could be, if possible the best Huntress to ever live. It was here she would battle monsters in preparation for the hordes she would no doubt extinguish. It was here she would see...

"Oh, oh, oh, Sis! that kid's got a collapsible staff." She squealed with glee, pointing a trembling limb at the aforementioned weapon as the boy carrying it passed them by. She almost tackled her own sister to the ground grabbing the older girls arm when she saw something even better. "Oh, oh, and she's got a fire sword!"

Of course she ignored the strange, alien look her sister was giving her.

How could she care when so many AWESOME weapons were moving around in the mass of people gathered around her?

Her sister still didn't understand it seemed, pulling her by the hood as she whimpered instead of letting her feast her eyes on the wonderful, deadly, wonderfully deadly pieces of engineering. The older girl paid no mind to her cries of pain, heartlessly shaking her head while Ruby watched her precious, um, precious masterpieces slowly disappear into the distance.

Well, she knew they weren't her's too keep, but come on! She never tells Yang off when she goes ogling boys all over the place! At least her older sister should let her enjoy her eye candy!

She didn't even say anything when Yang was eyeing the boy she punched in the gut after he beat her in a pun-off, so her sister should let her have her moment!

"Calm down sis, their just weapons." Yang said callously, a sickening smile on her face when she uttered such blasphemy.

No such thing would stand uncontested. "_Just weapons? _They are an extension of ourselves, Yang! They are a _part_ of us!" Luckily, not all of them were out of sight and the very form of a variable rocket launcher turned battle mace managed to calm her down. From the position of a preacher testifying she returned her firsts under her chin, the very image of a giddy schoolgirl. "They're so cool!"

"They why don't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Again her sister was spewing nonsense, and this time about her own baby.

"Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose!" She almost shouted while unfurling her baby and rubbing her cheek on the smooth barrel that also served as the long handle of the polearm-sniper hybrid. Her baby was her masterpiece crafted for her use only, and made only with the best of designs and materials she had available. Even her uncle, a great scythe-wielder in his own right, her teacher, praised it as one of the best scythes he ever laid his eyes on. It was one of the most awesome things she even had the pleasure of staring at, but... "I just like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better..."

She unknowingly said the last part with a sigh. The anxiety was eating at her since they got on the airship.

Her sister, as much of an unbeliever as she was, wouldn't let her fall into despair though. "Come on Ruby." Even just to snap her out of her reverie, pulled her red hood over her eyes. "Why don't you make some friends of your own. Narius seems like a good enough guy and you seemed to hit it off with him."

She couldn't help but have admiration well up from inside her at the mention of the boy who BEAT YANG IN HORRIBLE PUNS, but she shook her head as she replaced her hood. "He's cool, but why would I need friends when I have you?"

And that was it.

No matter what happened she loved her sister, and she knew Yang loved her. No matter what happened she would always be by her side, never to abandon her-

"Actuallymyfriendsareherenowgottocatchupokayseeyabye!" Yang waved shamelessly as a group of people she barely recognized came out of nowhere and took away her sister in one fell swoop.

"Wait, where are you going?! Are we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" Before she could figure out what just happened, she was spinning around in the middle of the courtyard on her own. she was dizzy, both because of the spinning, the sudden disappearance of her sister and the fact that for the first time since... the incident... she was left totally alone by the people she loved.

Well technically she was fully expecting Yang to pull something like this, to get rid of her supposed people problem she would say, but just because you saw the punch coming doesn't mean it hurts less when it actually lands.

"I don't know what I'm doing..."She fell on her back, though as luck would have it, her back collided with a bunch of suitcases that seemed to appear behind her. They were scattered when they struck her back, but eerily there was a distinct lack of pain. It was like the suitcases absorbed most of the impact and scattered it, so in the end she found herself on the floor surrounded by baggage.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh? Sorry." She muttered reflexively, looking up to see a girl in a white dress pointing an accusing finger at her. She was... a bit too well dressed to be ready for combat, in Ruby's humble combat oriented opinion. Yeah, Narius was sporting a full three piece suit but whoever she was, she looked like she was ready to perform in front of an audience or something. She looked really worried too, so stage fright, maybe?

"Sorry? Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?" She repeated frantically, genuinely worried about something as she continued to ash out at Ruby.

_So maybe not stage fright?_

"Uh..." Still, Ruby was a little girl at heart and at the word 'damage' she just needed to see what was in the suitcases that would have elicited such a feverish response from the older girl.

Sadly she was denied. "Give me that." The girl quickly relived her of the case and quickly examined it for any damages. Ruby was at least thankful she was focusing so much on the case that she completely missed Ruby's disappointed pout. Back to the the _case at hand_... Oh Remnant she punned. "This is Dust, mined and purified at the Schnee Quarry." The girl in white opened the case as she was satisfied and examined the contents for any damages that might have bypassed the protective casing.

"Uh..." Ruby, however, scratched her head at the thought. She was a kid, compared to most of the people in Beacon, the crabby girl included, but as the builder and user of a high impact sniper rifle, she knew the dangers of mishandled Dust. If an entire bottle of propellant was to explode, then she was pretty sure there would be very little of her, and her baby, left at ground zero. She tried not to think about what would happen if more than half a dozen suitcases full of Dust exploded.

_Now how to apologize..._

She had the best intentions at heart, and just wanted to find the words that would placate the older girl as well as give them an opportunity to start again. If she was dealing with something easy like, I don't know, a Grimm the she could have just killed it, but apparently even knocking a person you're arguing with out wasn't a viable option. Unfortunately, crabby girl decided that her looking for words was a sign of stupidity and continued to verbally attack her.

"What are you, brain dead? Dust!" She pulled out a bottle of the red substance after closing the case, probably to further hammer in her point. "Fire, water, lightning, energy!" She punctuated each word with a shake of the bottle, inadvertently scattering some of the precious resource in the wind. Ruby would have warned her, honest, it's just that some of the Dust happened to enter her nose. "Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?"

You know what happens when pepper, or anything powdery really, enters your nose? You sneeze, and normally that's just gross at worst. When you get Dust in your nose and sneeze, results tend to be more... colorful.

She was staring to regret rubbing the fact that her sister exploded earlier, maybe if she was a little more sensitive she wouldn't have exploded too.

No, not the getting mad part, the literal igniting, being surrounded by a fireball, and almost blowing the other party off the cliff part.

Of course, crabby girl did't look like the type to let that whole thing go. "Unbelievable, this was exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" She renewed her assault with righteous anger while Ruby...

Ruby began twiddling her fingers and doing her best to look as small as possible. "I'm really, really sorry."

"You complete dolt!" She scoffed, looking down on Ruby before finally noticing something that should have caught her attention earlier. "What are you even doing here?! Aren't you a bit young to be attending Beacon?"

"Yeah, the little red is a kid, but your actions don't exactly say, 'I'm a responsible student' either." From out of nowhere, Narius interjected from behind her, causing Ruby to unconsciously jump in surprise before rushing to the side of the crimson-eyed boy.

"Excuse me?" The crabby girl was shocked, outraged, and if you looked closely, somewhat confused. She truly believed that she was wholly in the right, though Ruby wasn't exactly in a position to convince her otherwise. "And what's that supposed to mean."

"The glass bottles and corks." He explained methodically, pulling a container from the inner pockets of his jacket and presenting it to the girl. "When handling Dust, especially the more volatile variants, one must use proper containers that would ensure the safety of both the material and the people handling it. Cork isn't as air tight as it should be and even bullet proof glass is much too easy to break if you know how. If you paid more attention, then you would see even closing the case was scattering dust and none of us would be having this conversation."

"How dare you?" Instead of taking criticism, the crabby girl just got more agitated. Though this time, her main target was Narius instead of Ruby. Ruby was feeling a bit guilty that the boy she just met had to take heat twice that day, though the first time may have been literal, though she knew that if he could take on Yang, he could probably take on whoever this was. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

"I have to say princess, I have no idea who I'm talking to, other than a girl who would not accept my friend's apology." He quipped easily before tapping Ruby in the back.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, really, so can we forget this happened and start over... umm... princess?" That last bit was something she just decided to roll with. She knew no one would accept an apology if they were being insulted after. That being said, she meant princess as a compliment, the girl did look pretty in her fancier clothing and did see a bit more... sophisticated was it? Also, she would rather call the girl in white princess to her face rather than crabby girl.

Luckily, her reply, whatever it was, died in her throat as another stepped in. "It's heiress, actually."

To Ruby, she was dressed in a combination of what Yang usually wears and a bit of what Narius was wearing. The monochrome color scheme as well as the tailed vest was reminiscent of the suit he wore. Plus She had a scarf, a sleeveless top, hot pants, though she wore long stockings while her sister did not, and ribbons winding around her arms looked that definitely Yang. In her hand was a book, something that brought a small smile to Ruby's face, and a bottle of Dust.

A bottle which was absent from the princess-err-heiress's hands.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world." She explained in monotone, temporarily distracting the heir-err Weiss.

"Finally, some recognition."

"The same company infamous for it's controversial labor forces and questionable business partners."

At such a betrayal Weiss simply stepped forward and glared the new girl in the face, before taking her bottle of dust and storming off in a huff. Ruby giggled, the little childish part of her winning when she saw the person getting mad at her being told off by two other people, though the more senile part told her she shouldn't just leave it at that. "I promise I'll make it up to you!" She called out, but Weiss ignored her, wrath still burning around her as she walked towards the school.

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one having a rough first day." Ruby sighed before turning to the black-haired new girl... only to watch her walk back towards the airship.

"You and your sister are a lot alike, you know?" Narius spoke offhandedly, as if noticing that she needed someone to talk to if she didn't want to just fall on the cobblestone floor and wait for the world to end. "You both like exploding too much."

"That wasn't my fault!" Ruby whined like a child, though the grin on her face probably gave off the wrong impression. It helped that she had a comeback prepared just in case he turned on her too. "You said it too, it's her fault for using those glass things instead of proper whatchamacallits! And, and, and, it's Vomit Boy's fault that Yang got mad at you so there!" Again she fell back on the most common 'I win' trick in the book and blew a raspberry.

Speaking of which. "Hey, wait a minute, just who's Vomit Boy?!"

Again Ruby was caught by surprise. Sure everyone she met seemed to leave after a while, but it was still surprising that so many people would pop up randomly. She wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth though, them popping up like daisies meant that she didn't have to actively look for people all the time, and that was a win for her. Still there was a current argument, a lighthearted one, going on and as the little sister of a self proclaimed pun master, she would not lose.

"Ah, Vomit Boy, when did you get here?" She said with a wide smile, relishing the annoyance in his face. Beside him, Narius seemed to share a tired smile as well, though it was directed at Vomit Boy rather than her.

"It seems like you have gotten a new nickname since Amnesia, Vomit Boy." Even she was hard pressed to stifle a laugh when the taller blond said such a thing with a totally straight face and a deadpan tone.

"Hey, motion sickness is a much larger people that most problems let on, Crater Face!" He yelled out in protest, not exactly thinking when he started speaking to her. "And you." He pointed at Narius, shouting with an accusatory tone. "Who makes pills so small? I mean they're so hard to find after falling asleep. And why did you get me the drowsy pills, you know how I get!"

"I apologize Ruby." Narius bowed, much like he did to Yang before, though from her position, she could see the small smile on his face that faded when he straitened himself. "It seems that this idiot here, not only lost the medication I gave him, but he seemed to take the cough meds that make his brain work funny. You're right, everything is Vomit Boy's fault."

"Hey, I have a name you know!" Vomit boy called out, not the least bit fazed that he was being ignored. It was probably the medication. "It's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue. Ladies love it!"

"Do they?"

"Since when?"

Ruby and Narius chorused, both raising a single eyebrow skeptically at Vom-err Jaune's claims. The boy, again, didn't seem to care at that point, sticking out his chest and grinning. "Yeah they do!"

Narius seemed to have enough, taking Jaune's head with his hand and pushing him back slightly. Jaune staggered quite a distance away, shaking his head, and when he opened his eyes, the light of intoxication faded to make room for soul crushing regret. It seemed that whatever Narius did was enough to get him back to his senses, and that meant one thing.

Everyone was feeling awkward.

So she cleared the air the only way she could. "So... I got this thing." With practiced ease, she reached for the item hanging from the small of her back and unfurled her baby in front of her two boys. This was he element, showing off her awesomeness in front of strangers and friends alike. If making friends was as easy as showing boys what she had under her cloak then she had it in the bag.

_Wait, no, that sounds like something Yang would say. No, bad thoughts, bad thoughts!_

Jaune was most definitely impressed, and rightfully so, as the ground cracked under the weight of her massive weapon. Narius was less excited, but there was a slight glow of awe in his crimson eyes.

_Still got it._

"Is that a scythe?" Jaune was nervous

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" Ruby cocked her weapon excitedly

"Never really saw a gun-scythe before." And Narius was as cool as ever as he examined the weapon.

"Oh... well that's cool!" Jaune was now promoted from Vomit Boy, to friend after he said those words.

Ruby herself had to fight down the urge to explain, ahem, proclaim the awesomeness of her first born, and instead asked the polite question. "So what do you guys got?"

"Well I got this sword." Jaune replied readily, unsheathing his own weapon, a simple long sword as Ruby 'oohed' "Yeah, I got this shield too."

Now the combination wasn't the flashiest at first glance, nothing but a simple sword and a shield that seemed to shift from being the scabbard to a shield. There was no difference to the swords and shields of old other than the fact that the shield folded; since time immemorial shields often served as sheathes in combat. It wasn't shiny, it wasn't fancy, but even Ruby could tell there was a hidden beauty in its simplicity. She knew for a fact that if it was that simple then it was reliable, and Jaune was one hell of a fighter to use something that didn't even incorporate Dust in it's active form.

Basically, the scraggly boy intended to beat up Grimm with a sharpened metal stick, and was making it work.

She had to ask though. "So what do they do?" She was excited, as so she ran her fingers over the shield's outer surface, inadvertently making the boy nervous and close it.

In a moment it was airborne, opening and closing while Jaune chased it down. When he finally did managed to rein in it, he folded it and replaced it on one of the belts on his hip. "Well... The shield gets smaller, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just... put it away..." he explained it halfheartedly, knowing it couldn't compare to the awesomeness that was her baby.

She didn't hold it against him, no his weapon was pretty cool too, there was just something bothering her. "But wouldn't it weigh the same?"

"Yeah it does." He visibly deflated as he put his sword away.

She giggled at his reaction, not exactly blaming Jaune for not seeing the value in a smaller weapon instead of a lighter one, The balance would change immediately and would make it much easier to carry. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it." She loved her weapon and knew everything about it, she just though Jaune would know the same about his if he built it.

"Wait, _you built_ that thing?" he asked with no small amount of awe and respect, for both the weapon and the litter girl, her, who built it.

_Wait a second._

"Of course, everyone in Signal make's their own weapons, didn't you make yours?" The question was more of a formality, but his reply it was obvious he didn't make it, but it was still pretty good. That begged the question, where did it come from?

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war."

"Well I like it, not everyone has an appreciation for the classics these days." Ruby spoke with the air of an expert, affirming the coolness of Jaune's own weapon before tunring to Narius. "What about you, Narius?" He looked quite reluctant after she asked, though it was less about being emasculated, Yang said boys felt weird when they say her weapon, and more about keeping his own under wraps.

So she shot him down with the silver eyes of cuteness that only Yang was immune to. In the end even he caved, and showed her that she was more like Yang than even she thought.

With a sigh he removed his jacket, revealing a pair of thin bracers that lay hidden under his sleeves and gloves. At first glance it resembled skin, or maybe a very thin layer of cloth but it was cool to the touch and much harder than it looked. With a snap of his fingers, the metal seemed to liquefy before flowing down his forearms and finally coalescing to form a ring around each of his fingers.

"I don't really know how to describe it, but the closest I can come up with is a pair of gauntlets." he explained like it was the most simple thing in the world, and maybe to him it was.

Even Jaune didn't look too impressed by the end of the display, simply brushing it off as normal as he held on to Narius' jacket and gloves.

Ruby making a face, or rather she was squealing at a frequency so high that humans could not detect it.

Never mind that yang also fought with a pair of cestus, and that the fact that his would be more effective since they didn't have the recoil her sister dealt with after each punch. Sure they lacked ranged capability, or not she thought since liquid metal could easily be launched by the strength of his fist. That strength she didn't doubt since no one has stopped Yang's punches with their bodies yet, not even her dad. What caught her attention, or would catch anyone's attention really, was the fact that he turned something solid into something liquid, and back into something solid again.

Like it was nothing.

Not even she could liquefy metal and then turn it back solid the next moment. With such technology, even Crescent rose would be made even better, something maybe a bit bigger, sleeker and much much more deadly. The implications were massive, the fact that he could carry them on his arms, as rings, meant that it was light and that it was strong too. That could form a sharper blade, maybe even a thinner and longer barrel, as well as quicker transformation sequences. The best part? If she figured out how he did it, she could literally make anything into _anything else_.

The power of such technology was infinite.

All she could say was. "SOOO COOOOL!" She all but lept into him, or rather his arm, and feasted her eyes on such a breakthrough in weaponry. "How do you make it do that?! It got smaller, or was it really just that thin when you spread it over your arms?! How big can it expand without breaking?! How does it feel when it changes, is it hot or still cool?! What's it called?!"

"I would love to answer your questions but..." Almost as if on cue, Jaune hummed in surprise as Narius' jacket began vibrating. "That's probably a friend of ours. We got to get going."

Ruby looked around and finally noticed that, indeed, aside from them, the courtyard was utterly deserted. Again, she also realized that the people who popped up in front of her were leaving as well.

"You coming, Ruby or what?" Jaune called her over while Narius smiled invitingly behind him.

_Take that sis, I can make friends too!_

* * *

**AN**

**And Beacon 1, episode 2, is done!**

**First, credit to Skywalker for serving as inspiration for this chapter. I say this because this was written the moment his first chapter was done, I just needed to edit some stuff here and there to suit the needs of the story and stuff. Does anyone know how hard it is to resurrect a hard drive? According to my cousin it's easy, I just don't know how to do it after my laptop died and took everything with it and died. I had to wait for my cousin to come back and do his magic, since apparently it's supposed to be impossible now.**

**Easy=Impossible, who knew?**

**Thanks for the support guys, I have been editing this as hard as I can to try to make the stuff more understandable, I hope it worked. We are in Canon so I'm assuming most of the stuff is already known to most of the readers. Look forward to the reunions, and the random off screen things I make happen.**

**Yes, I know sometimes stuff is indecipherable but even I need some surprises too. **

**Special Thank You to the Fifth, really inspired me to do better when I got my hard drive back in working order and Blud for giving a few tips in making this better.**

**Rakaan: Use that brain of yours, you can do it, That Damn Guy Who You Can Stab With Swords All You Like And It Won't Do A Thing, Dammit :D**

**Meetings with most of the canon students, other than the older years and team bully. The interactions were something I did my best on, though I have to warn you, (Proc, warning everyone after the chapter is kind of stupid) Blake and Brennan(Tensa) is somewhat surreal at best. What they were talking about, well I'm sure you guys can figure that out.**

**I also hope everyone forgives me for the pun-off, I just had to do it. **

**Some explanation for those who didn't get it (Just making sure, since my normal writing is confusing, I don't know how to classify my wordplay.)**

**Fiery-Yang**

** Suit-What Narius is wearing**

**Main-Mane, Yang's hair**

**Slack-Again with what Narius is wearing.**

**Read and Violent-Red and Violet(lilac), Yang's eyes that change color depending on her mood.**

**Exploding-Fire Falcon Punch**

**Blew it-Blow Chunks or Vomiting**

**Cleaning up-Literally what was happening in the bathroom also cleaning up an act or getting better**

**Green-Nausea**

**Hot-Attractive, in Yang's case also literal**

**Burned-Rejected, insulted, and in Yang's case also literal. **

**Score of the match is 9 Narius and 3 Yang if anyone was wondering. The people already left after running out of will power to boo.**

**If any questions are unanswered, review and PM.**

**This has been Proccit**

**SEE YA! :D**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Nightfall and Daybreak**

* * *

_Something's wrong here..._

Surrounded by a group of overly annoying, good-for-nothing, useless-in-a-fight teenagers, Zangetsu waited with an impatient scowl on his face. There was obviously something wrong when the unruly, bloodthirsty, generally chaotic manifestation of instinct and several negative emotions was the _first_ to arrive in an event that promised nothing but boredom. In all honesty, he didn't get why the had to even enter an academy in the first place.

Thinking about it, again a truly rare thing for a being whose nature revolved around instinct and impulse, their fighting ability was above average if he was humble, utterly god-like if he was honest. It would probably take a single team of hunters to take one of them fighting seriously as survive. If they merged together and fought with the intent to kill, creatures of Grimm, and anything really, wouldn't even be able to approach them, much less hurt them. It would still bring harm to their allies though, so full power still had to be controlled before put into actual practice. Still, as they were, they could easily pass off as teachers rather that students.

But here he was, waiting on a teacher he didn't need to learn from with future classmates he didn't want to have to study with.

To make things worse, he was waiting there knowing full well that the King was absent.

The Quincy entered a few seconds ago and the Unknown would probably take another minute or two but the King, he would be absent for the crappy orientation, or speech and shit.

He was never the best as sensing others, in the usual sense, rather he was never the best at identifying signatures of those around him. It was probably the nature of a Hollow, he couldn't really ask one anymore, but his radar worked on only one scale, and that was strength. It was something like a radar of old, where all he could see is the 'strength value' of the being and its position relative to him. In exchange though, he could estimate the opponent's relative power almost perfectly, and his range was incomparably large, even against the Quincy. So he could tell that the King wasn't even in a two mile radius of the entire school, and was somewhere in the city running around with some other power.

Probably Nozomi or Kon, those two are the only ones with powers so equal that he practically couldn't tell the difference.

In that case, if it was one or the other, the King was either doing some random errand or on the way to another area where something infinitely more interesting than an opening ceremony would happen. Reluctantly he dropped his radar, there was no use looking for the King when he already knew where he wouldn't be. Thinking about how he wasn't in the hell the other three of them were force to attend would only make him angry and leaking his killing intent would probably floor the entire auditorium. As much fun as that would be, he knew that it would be better to have some idiot pick a fight with him before he showed them all he could _destroy_ the entire student body while _hogtied._

No, he wasn't into that sort of thing, it's just that if, by some strange circumstance it happened, he would be able to eat the very souls of the idiots who managed to land him in that position, consequences be damned.

_Besides, someone might even recognize it._

Looking around, he could see at least three people he had encountered before, one of them being a hot, both figuratively and literally, piece of ass a few feet to his left. He shook his head when he finally got around recognizing her, she was one of the many unlucky souls who happened to be in the police station when that idiot of modsoul began insulting him. As a sign of respect for his station, they tied him up first -they really thought and that counted for something- he didn't insult the cross-dresser back when he was in the midst of his colleagues, but next time they fought he would be kicking that thing's plush, well not plush anymore, ass.

It's not like he did nothing though. No, he made sure to warn the modsoul of his ire, in the form of a sustained wave of reiatsu. The Hunters aside, he felt every single soul in the building shudder in fear as the very weight of his existence was pressed upon them. The Hunters themselves were made to sweat when he turned to them with a withering glare before storming out. As a final act of power, he snuffed out every single soul in the building before he retreated in a buzz of sonido.

Obviously, he didn't kill them, just caused them to black out for a little bit, whether it was for hours or mere seconds was up to their mental fortitude and how close they were to him when he left.

He had to be a bit more careful when dealing with her, just the slightest mistake and she might recognize him from the night before, and he didn't want to have to deal with a curious girl who wouldn't take no for an answer. At least if he was dealing with Nora, he could knock her out and suffer no further repercussions. There was no telling what kind of shit he would be dragged into if he knocked out some random, oh he didn't know, stuck-up bitch or something.

He wasn't interested in finding out what would happen if he knocked her out anyway.

_Knocking her up though... a solid maybe._

He was instinct after all, proof that Ichigo, as much of a prude the boy was, was a healthy teenage boy. Of course he would be paying attention to a few choice areas.

"Oh Ruby! Over here, I saved you a spot!" Especially when said areas were... bouncing rather animatedly when she was waving her hand to get the attention of a little... red...

_Wait a second, isn't the kid a bit too young to get in here?_

"Oh." The little red riding hood, Ruby if he remembered correctly, immediately grinned when she caught sight of her sister and turned to the blonde boy beside her. "Hey, I-I got to go. I'll see you after the ceremony." Before dashing towards his direction. Well not exactly his direction, but her sister's, and the blond boy... Narius, that bastard, was following behind her and making his way to him with that insufferable grin on his face.

He wasn't against having Narius around, far from it, after a few months of nonstop dueling he had gained a healthy respect for and from the Unknown, the fact that he used to be a Hollow, and therefore could relate to Zangetsu on a deeper level while at the same time not try and devour one another, helped them strengthen their bonds as battle-brothers as well. Hell, when she noticed, Ruby didn't seem to mind Narius shadowing her for the moment, if the widening of her already large and glowing smile was of any indication. They seemed to get along after whatever short time they spent together, though that was probably due to Ruby's personality than anything else, since she managed to get him of all people to be a little more civil.

No, the only one who looked uncomfortable with Narius' presence seemed to be the blonde bombshell beside him, a very slight frown forming as well as a curious eyebrow being raised when she detected the other blond's approach.

Narius was, as always, quick on the uptake, smiling charmingly at Yang before turning to Zangetsu. "Well, I can't say I didn't expect you to be here, though being found next to this beauty no less, is surely a surprise."

"Can it, Narius, I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with you right now." Zangetsu replied curtly before giving Ruby and her sister a quick nod. If the smile the little girl was wearing was telling of anything, it was obvious she recognized him. "Red, didn't expect to see you so soon. I thought you would have been grounded or something after dealing with that glasses lady. Kicking ass and taking names aside, wasn't it, i don't know, way passed you're bed time?"

"Well, my dad did get mad for coming back so late, but he didn't care when I told him I was going to Beacon!" She proclaimed proudly, acting a bit miffed that he would accuse her of being so childish. "You didn't say you were going to Beacon, Zangetsu, but then if you could fight off a Hunter for a few minutes than it's obvious you're good enough. What you did before you left was weird through, what was that? A semblance, Aura, some sort of mind power? Tell me!" Again, just like the night before, she began talking at a rapid rate, not even caring that he looked at her with the intent to kill that night. If anything, the two blonds were the ones worrying about the little girl being in contact with him.

"You two have met?" Both Narius and Ruby's sister asked in unison, exchanging a confused glance with each other before turning back to them.

"Yeah, Kaiser's friend, the dom with a riding crop and stick up... attitude problem, brought her in after they caught me at Tukson's." Zangetsu explained to Narius with a sigh and a wistful smile. "And here I thought I would have something much easier than babysitting if I went to prison."

Ruby didn't seem to mind the quip, imediatly gushing to her sister when she realized that the Hollow was with them.

"He was sooooo cool sis!" On the other hand, apparently Ruby got a good impression of him when they first met. "He was all 'Lovely evening we're having here, I don't even care that I'm in unbreakable handcuffs' and the Huntress was all like 'I don't care what people say about Torchwick, this kid is more dangerous so bind him better' and after she left he was all 'You can't keep me here, I'm here because I want to be!' Bwahahaha!" She narrated in a crazy over-the-top villain's voice while acting out what looked to be a person rampaging around a room after breaking free from the bonds that held her, or him since that was supposed to be Zangetsu.

The Hollow was not amused.

Narius looked at him with twinkling eyes while trying to stifle a laugh he couldn't totally keep in his throat.

Zangetsu just sighed. "No, I did not do an evil laugh. I broke the flimsy cuffs, sure, but that's it. I don't even talk like that." One good turn did deserve another, those where his exact thoughts when he regarded Ruby as calmly as he possibly could before pointing the finger. "She, on the other hand, kept making those weird martial arts noises that it gave me a headache."

"Hey, they were awesome and you know it." Ruby argued, her hands on her hips as she stared up at the Hollow in outrage.

"I understand why they do it in combat, it's silly and distracting. Why you did it outside of combat, when it was just plain annoying, is beyond me." Zangetsu countered with a light finger jab to her forehead. "If you did something like that in a fight against me, then it would just make me want to beat you that much faster. We're not going to be fighting each other for at least a few more days, so before that, what-who is... this... growling... person?"

"Oh that's my sister Yang and she's not- YANG STOP DOING THAT!"

For some reason, the hot girl, Yang apparently she was called which opened up a whole different kind of worms by name and ability alone.

She was a fire user, her body temperature subtly increasing while she smoldered, yes smoldered, in anger, just annoyed Zangetsu because its exactly what the Yang he knew would do. She was, for all intents and purposes, that same Yang he defeated a lifetime ago when some wannabe ice dragon decided to take up the King's Seal and use it's power to get revenge- basic villain shit. The problem was that Yang, or at least the arrancar they had so much troubling killing got on his nerves, and he had nowhere to vent that stress except for the Yang who may or may not be her soul reincarnated.

Yes, it was a weak excuse at best, but as a being of instinct, he could decide whether or not to make sense most of the time.

He couldn't exactly find another more suitable target of his pent up annoyance in the closest hundred meters, and it wasn't like Yang could actually do anything to stop him either.

He remembered that she was as easily floored as the other flimsy police officers the night before.

Also, and probably the most pressing concern was that she was, in fact, growling at him. It was because he struck Ruby in the forehead. No matter how weak and harmless it was, the point remained that he, an unknown at least to Yang, stuck Ruby in the forehead while older sister, if the chest size had anything to do with it, was watching. To be perfectly fair, if anyone struck Kingy while he was kid form, protective instinct kicked in. Although, Zangetsu felt more like he was protecting prey exclusively reserved for him more that protecting a sibling of a loved one.

So he could understand what she was feeling, just not bring himself to care. "Bite me." He taunted her with a smirk, using his superior speed to close the distance and bit the air centimeters from her ears before breaking away just as quickly.

"Oh, you want some too?" She responded with an even more sultry than threatening growl before the heat rose, though Narius probably kept it from affecting innocent bystanders.

That would explain the lack of panic even if she was reaching temperatures high enough to make everyone in the auditorium uncomfortably sweaty.

"And are you going to give it to me, honey?" Zangetsu, on his part, smiled at the challenge, adding more fuel to the flame while preparing for the first hit. There was no way in hell he would be blamed for starting a fight on the first day. "i hope you like it rough cause I'll be giving even more than I get."

Self-defense was another story.

He didn't get a chance to though, Narius coming in like a hero and ruing his fun.

"Play nice children." Zangetsu could only marvel at how Narius managed to say those words so gently while crushing them with his reiatsu. The Hollow himself could resist it as easily as he would brush off a light drizzle, but to Yang, it must have been like being encased in amber. From the perspective of someone who knew what was going on, she was trapped in a mold so absolute that she wasn't even allowed to fall on her knees, much less take a breath.

Not only that, but as much as Zangetsu hated to admit it, the very _feel_ of Narius' power was even _worse_ than his own.

"That's better." The Unknown smiled patronizingly at the two before releasing his hold on the pair, deftly catching Yang and supporting her before she could fall. "Now, Yang, this is Zangetsu, and Zangetsu, you've met Yang, so you two get along."

"Eh, sure." Zangetsu muttered noncommittally before offering her a hand of ceasefire. "Truce."

"Whatever." Even if she brought up a brave front for her sister, it was clear she was afraid, but as it looked like Ruby trusted the both of them, her worries melted away. It wouldn't be a stretch to say her mood did a one-eighty when she turned back to her sister, every trace of fear gone and a wide grin on her face. "So how was your first day with this... um... guy, going little sister?" Everyone turned to Narius for a moment, only to turn back to Ruby when they caught sight of his ever-present smile.

Zangetsu could only shake his head and stare at the boy, who as clearly smirking at the Hollow. Apparently, no one told Yang that she could let go of him at that point.

"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" Ruby immediately snapped back, crossing her arms and turning away from her sister.

"Yikes! Meltdown already?" At least she had the decency to look sympathetic and prepared while Ruby got ready to vent. It was an older sibling thing when talking to the little ones, he should know.

"No, no, no." Ruby scoffed, waving her arm dismissively, before continuing on with her rant. "I literally exploded a hole in front of the school, on the first day, after my _beloved_ older sister ditched me! It wasn't even cool, it was just scary! There was fire everywhere and... um... lighting and ash too... and I think some ice... maybe." She trailed off, as if she was genuinely confused as to what was really in the explosion.

Zangetsu looked to Narius for clarification. This was getting interesting if at the very first day there was a fight, and he missed it! The Unknown was not much help though, simply nodding when Ruby said there was fire, ice, and lighting in an explosion. No matter, that meant that he was there when whatever happened... well happened, at least that meant that he could take that information out of Narius after night fell.

There was still one issue though.

"Yang, does your sister not know what ice is?" Zangetsu wondered with genuine curiosity. This was the second time Ruby thought something was ice, so either she didn't really know what ice was or the explosion messed with head.

Yang, to her credit, seemed to be able to ignore him even after what happened a few moments ago in favor for tending to her irate sister. More often that not, to deal with a younger sibling's rage, especially when said younger sibling, Ruby and in the King's case, Yuzu, the elder sibling had to push them on the brink. Yang did the perfect job of doing that. "Are you being sarcastic?" She asked with a Cheshire Cat grin, finally breaking way from Narius to lean closer to her little sister.

_Makes sense now that releasing the absolute potential of a Fullbring was something like getting a younger child to let the pain off their chests._

Ruby, only able to take so much, finally took off in 'rant mode'. "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I exploded, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me, even after Narius came in and tried to hell me out by blaming it on the bottle of something and she still kept yelling at me and I just wanted everything to just stop for a few seconds and...!"

As soon as the two words left her mouth, Zangetsu could feel something close to killing intent emanate from somewhere behind the girl. Zangetsu turned to Narius again when he spied the girl practically bathed in white, the Unknown responding with a nod as the unspoken question was asked. As Ruby's story unfolded the girl simply kept getting more aggravated, her eyes narrowing while her brow began scrunched up in anger, before finally she had enough to Ruby's childishness. "You!"

The result was instantaneous.

"Oh God, it's happening again!"

With Ruby nuzzling in Yang's arms for comfort and Narius watching with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, the girl lectured. "You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!"

Yang of course had the only normal reaction after hearing that for the first time. "Oh my God, you really exploded." There was a little awe in her lips, like she couldn't believe that her sister could be caught up in such an improbable situation.

"It was an accident!" Ruby cried out in her defense, pleading with Yang through silver puppy eyes before jumping down and facing the girl with the same look. "It was an accident."

All she got for her effort through, was a piece of paper thrust in front of her face. "What's this?" She was thoroughly confused at that point, expecting she would cave or get angry instead of doing something like that. She tilted her head like a cat, though it was probably because the brochure thrust upon her was also oriented the same way.

Frankly, some of the events were even confusing Zangetsu.

Like the way the girl didn't even take a breath to say... "The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field." And at a speed that obviously left both sisters in the dust.

Narius, however, was more that capable of retorting, taking the pamphlet and scanning it's contents. "Um, Miss Schnee, it clearly states here to use the proper containing vessels, and handle with care. I would ask since when were glass bottles qualified as proper vessels, but the more pressing matter would be since when was shaking the bottle of volatile, easily lit Dust, in front of another person, handling with care? If you don't want to get along at least share the blame."

"You know what, just don't ever speak to me again." She said with a superior air, even as Zangetsu noted that she had no rebuttal against Narius' argument. He noted that because it seemed to annoy the already angry chick and that would likely spiral into a fight if he played his cards properly.

_Now how to get them to argue more?_

Narius would be totally fine with just avoiding such an irresponsible and annoying person and Ruby, the innocent girl he had come to know while cuffed to a chair, would probably try to make friends with the ice bitch. Yang would be no help either, more likely egging Ruby to make friends with the ice bitch than to pummel her to kingdom come with whatever weapons they carried. In his personal opinion, it would have been much more interesting if the fought, and Ruby would have won too. Come on, that box hanging from Ruby's back was much bigger _folded_ than the toothpick the ice bitch wore on her waist!

Before it could even escalate into a real fight, or even a shouting match, the ceremony started.

"I'll... keep this brief."

Zangetsu already hated it.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Isn't this... I don't know... cheating?" Ichigo queried over the roars of a beowolf standing at twice the height of the regular monster before cutting it down from shoulder to hip in a single swing of his katana. He wasn't done yet, using the leftover momentum to speed up his pivot before he lashed out with the nodachi, splitting the jaw, as well as the entire body of another one of the monsters mid-lunge. He had not time to admire his two quick kills, not that he intended to anyway, when an entire horde of those things had him surrounded. He could have ended it easily enough with a wave of overpowering reiatsu, at a level that would put Stark and even Aizen to shame, but aside from the permanent crater...

"Not really, all the bossman said was to take out some of the bigger threats." Kaiser answered cheerfully, burying his fist in the skull of an ursa before said part of its body detonated explosively. The Huntsman turned almost immediately, lashing out with a backhand fist to stun a beowolf before pummeling its rib cage with a dozen hits, each punch able to break through concrete, while the monster roared in agony. after a few seconds it couldn't even muster the strength to roar as Kaiser crushed its skull with a deft side-kick. "He wasn't particular on who to bring as help." He explained, jumping back to land behind the exasperated teen.

Back to Ichigo's problem, as much as he wanted to annihilate the horde of oversized Grimm in one fell swoop, he would most likely kill Kaiser in the process. As much as he learned how to control where the reiatsu would flow and who it would affect, he still had a problem controlling the output if he wasn't merged with the other three spirits. Alone, he could bring out the power, but killing every living and destroying every nonliving thing in at least a fifty foot radius.

That meant he had to take care of things the old fashioned way.

_No problem, I wanted the exercise anyway._

He nodded at Kaiser once in understanding before leaping back into the fray and instantly ending another ursa with a horizontal slash and stabbing through the head of a beowolf. With his katana firmly lodged in the skull of the creature, he began pumping a large amount of reiatsu into it, wrapping it in a Getsuga Tenshō, much like he did when he fought the fourth Espada and cut through the monsters skull, ignoring all resistance as he cared a path through several other members of the pack. He could feel at least six of them coming from behind, trying to rush him but all six slammed into a barrier before the nodachi met their bodies, a blue clad blade cutting through bulletproof fur like it was wet tissue paper.

Two more slashes and the blades clad with Getsuga Tenshō cut through the entirety of the horde, leaving nothing but black miasma slowly disappearing into the sky, much like how a Hollow would fade away when it was finally cleansed.

Across him he could see the Huntsman in his element, clad in what looked like pure energy, he fought them off with nothing but his limbs. From his fists flew spears of power, much like his old friend's El Directo, and each skewered through multiple Grimm as they flew even as his punches crushed the bodies of the monsters with the ease of crumpling paper. He moved even faster than Ichigo when it came to short distance travel, making short work of his side of the horde with speed and power alone, armed only with his fists and an obscene amount of reiatsu. Just moments after the fight began, Kaiser was holding a dismembered beowolf by the neck before crushing its head with a single hand.

"Are you sure about doing this?" Ichigo asked once more, sheathing his blades before turning to the older Huntsman. "I mean I don't really care if I get expelled, but how would you deal with mom when she finds out it's your fault."

"Relax Ichigo," Kaiser drawled out as he threw an arm around the taller teen's shoulders, much like how Keigo would before taking a beating. "I have faith in your abilities and most of the staff already think I'm crazy."

The boy sighed, at least the Huntsman was right in one regard.

Ichigo did wonder why one day Kaiser burst into his room asking to use a very specific Kidō: Kyokkō to be specific. Needless to say, a misunderstanding immediately arose when the Huntsman suddenly brandished a camera and asked Ichigo to say something. Ichigo humored him for a few seconds, talking with a voice that would normally be heard all throughout the house before pummeling the Huntsman for what he thought was an attempt to use the Kidō to peep, even if he already had a wife.

Random piece of information, Kyokkō, even if it is called 'Bent Light' also hid reiatsu, and sound, as well kept the user from being detected by thermal and night vision cameras.

When Kaiser finally got enough of a beating to be allowed to explain, Nozomi healed him after betting some punches in herself, they found out that Kaiser was assigned to clear the Emerald Forest of the more threatening Grimm before the students were flung into it for initiation. He intended to use that spell to sneak Ichigo in without the school surveillance system from finding out. He also vehemently denied accusations to peeping proclaiming "Why do I need to when I have my Goddess to fondle every night!"

He was beaten again, though for a wholly different reason and by a red-faced Nozomi.

Anyway, apparently that was why Ichigo was there, to help out with preliminary Grimm extermination to make sure no one died that year, and looking at the things they killed, Ichigo understood why Kaiser decided to ask for help.

The Grimm they fought were huge. Yeah, all Grimm were, as a rule, much larger than their animal counterparts, but in that one fight alone each beowolf they fought was at least two stories tall while the ursai were thrice the size of the normal variants. To put things into perspective, they were fighting living creatures that were bigger than trucks and hit like freight trains, and those were the so called 'normal' variants of Grimm.

They haven't even seen the more heavily armored Ursa Major or the much sleeker and deadlier Alpha Beowolf.

The only reason they were able to take them down as quickly as they did was because each strike was bursting with overwhelming power; they didn't want to take any chances against such large, and probably old, Grimm so they went with attacking with extreme prejudice and overwhelming force. There was no kill like overkill after all, and they didn't want to hit something that learned from experience more than once to kill it.

The size of the creatures by itself was troubling enough. More often than not it was opposite to the Menos, in which the bigger a Grimm was, the stronger, smarter and older it had become. They were fighting monsters much, much bigger than cars, which meant that they were most likely powerful enough to end a student if they would attack in groups. Those groups were another problem for the two warriors clearing the forest.

Grimm would form groups, packs, at times and that in itself was not strange. It would be alright to call a group of one or two dozen beowolves a normally sized pack and it would usually take a single hunter to dispose of them. Ichigo and Kaiser weren't fighting packs, they were fighting hordes. The first battle they participated it, from the get go about seven dozen Grimm, each larger than the bigger Hollows, attacked from all directions. The only reason why they were dealt with so quickly was because the reiatsu empowering their strikes was overkill in itself, and that when one fell, there were always a couple more behind the monster to take the brunt of the aftershock.

If all of the students were to be caught in that situation, there was no telling how many would have survived.

Of course, his thoughts were broken when several more of the giant Grimm, this time led by a snake whose teeth were larger than he was tall, broke through the treeline and into the growing clearing.

"Kaiser, get out of here." Ichigo warned before his reiryoku coalesced around his hand, black as the void and threatening to devour all the light in the area. The energy was alien and malicious, almost bending the air as it came into existence, and only grew in power as it spread over Ichigo's entire body. As soon as Kaiser took the air, Ichigo threw out his hand, allowing the energy to bloom in full splendor before he fired the spell. "Hadō 90, Kurohitsugi!"

From his hand, the black energy lanced towards the heavens and the earth before scattering to form the corners and faces of the cubic structure. An instant later the faces were formed and Ichigo, as well as several Grimm were trapped in one of the most powerful spells in the Death God's arsenal, the feared black coffin. The gravity came after, powered by Ichigo's own might reiatsu as the monsters could do nothing but panic in the darkness while they were torn apart.

The way the black coffin worked was quite simple when one experiences it first hand. It creates barriers even more powerful that the split void before the practitioner's reiatsu would fill the space and wreak havoc inside. Gravity itself was turned into a weapon as it twists and tears time and space with the sheer force of the practitioner's reiatsu. Depending on the power given into casting the spell, the distortion could simply wound those inside to outright reduce them to base particles. With Ichigo himself inside, he could more easily control the amount of force devoted to turn gravity into his sword, and while not as powerful as Aizen's, it was more than enough to shred the creatures like fruits in a blender.

When the construct faded, there was nothing but black mist around the boy, who stood in the middle of it all without a scratch on him.

He could only imagine how it looked from Kaiser's perspective, the giant black box tacking up most of the clearing at one point before disappearing, revealing nothing but black mist and Ichigo standing proudly in the center of it.

Though physically he was untouched, there was something bothering him. "If we needed to go here, why did we have to take the long way, from the city and around Beacon?" The boy asked the Huntsman as soon as he landed.

Kaiser himself looked confused with the question. "Uhh, Zangetsu?"

"Right." Ichigo nodded, trying his best not to look sheepish. Of course it had something to do wit the most battle-hungry of his spirits.

If the Hollow figured out they were going around destroying Grimm, he would have insisted to be dragged along, even if he had to carve a warpath _through_ the very Academy to do it. For some reason, the Hollow had quite the fixation on Grimm, almost bordering on obsession with the way he would go around and look for them specifically. It was probably a Hollow thing, how the lived for the hunt and the kill, something that Ichigo shared though to a lesser extent. The Hollow was a very capable fighter, in terms of statistics, he was the most powerful physically among the four of them as well as the most brutal in combat whenever he could afford it.

The only reason they had to sneak this certain excursion past the Hollow was because the collateral damage the forest would suffer if Zangetsu fought would be so tremendous that Narius would have to be brought in to counterbalance the damage. If Kaiser had to bring half of the team to help, they might as well bring the entire team; and in the end that would land them in a situation where they had to explain to the headmaster why students where preparing the field for other students who would be taking a test.

It was cheating, and if they brought everyone then they would be caught cheating, that was what the concealing Kidō was for.

Besides, being caught was something neither wanted because if they were caught then they would have to deal with a disappointed Aki.

Nobody wanted to deal with Ichigo's mother when she was disappointed.

He shook his head, dispelling such a thought. If they were alright with Jaune cheating, and Kaiser already informed him that the headmaster himself knew that he was cheating, they should be alright with something like this.

_Why are the Grimm so big this year?_

He decided that he didn't need an answer to that question before readying his swords for the third horde that assembled before him.

"Whoever has the most kills gets to force the other to do anything?" Kaiser taunted for one last time, his form exploding with purple reiatsu as he readied his stance.

"I hope you still have that doll then." Ichigo replied with the same confident smirk, drawing his swords for what would be the last time that day.

Together they charged while yellow and white danced in the forest to the death cries of monsters.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

For what felt like the nth time that day, Tensa sighed.

The day hadn't been the best of days.

Let's begin with the trip. It started at after lunch and so taking care of Jaune was quite the problem when he would seem to vomit after every movement the ship made. It was a problem that could have been easily avoided when they gave him the medication. All he really had to do was take it and all would be well, but no. Jaune Arc with his ability to fuck up even the most carefully laid out or the simplest of easily executable plans had to throw a monkey wrench into theirs.

The idiot forgot.

How he forgot was beyond them as a the sole _sane_ person on the same airship who somewhat respected the Arc, the responsibility fell to Tensa . Let it be known that it was a responsibility forced on him by both Nozomi and Aki, and god knows that if to go against the wishes of the first was extremely difficult, to go against the wishes of the second was downright impossible. Either way, he was forced to deal with a nauseous blond the entire trip, and make sure that he wouldn't fuck up.

At least he had a plan for that, he just couldn't, for the life of him, predict just how badly such a plan would fall apart.

That wasn't entirely true, Narius was there as well, though he seemed to disappear for some reason, only to be found again when the reached the auditorium of Beacon Academy. It was most likely the blond boy who took care of Jaune when Tensa himself had enough dealing with the boy's antics. What antics, one may ask, well it had something to do with the plan he cooked up.

While they did not have medicine that would target the symptom on nausea, they had sleeping pills. Reason dictated that if a person was asleep he could not be nauseous since nausea itself was caused the the feeling of being out of balance while experiencing movement or a reflex that would force regurgitation. Therefore, one had to be conscious to be nauseous, so a viable solution was to knock him out.

The nonsense that he was spewing was worse than vomit if that were possible, and so he did what his counterpart did when Ichigo first made it to Soul Society in the middle of an invasion.

He retreated.

That was when problem two came, in the form of a book.

If he was perfectly honest, that entire conversation in itself was bullshit. He saw the title as well as the name of the author from across the room, and used that to open a conversation. The rest of it was made through conjectures, and working on the assumption that what he was talking about and what she was reading was the same thing. The fact that it was taken so warmly meant that he was right.

Normally that would be a good thing.

Why?

To be perfectly blunt, it was the story of a certain Substitute Shinigami, albeit twisted to make it conform to the more popular canon of fiction.

Now, if he were a stronger person, he would have seen the book as a ray of hope.

It's very presence was definitive proof that there were others, aside from Tessai, Kaiser, and Nozomi, others like them must have been dragged to the world as well. Judging from the content of the books themselves, it looked the there were two major possibilities, the perverted Visored, or the main writer of the Seireitei Communication. From the looks of the sheer accuracy of the data itself, it would be safe to assume that they either had the support of a certain bucket-hat wearing shopkeeper who no doubt knew everything about them or they did have everyone involved to participate in writing such a tale, which was quite an amount of people judging from the sheer complexity of their story.

But as one present during the Renaissance, at least by extension, he read the book like reading a book. While to others it might have looked like he was simply flipping pages and taking single glances at them, he could take in the entire page and in effect, read the book at a significantly faster pace. By the time he had returned the book, and in effect finished reading the whole first book, he felt somewhat conflicted. The reason for his conflicting emotions was the actual content of the story itself.

It was accurate, at least most of it was, from the death of his mother to the way he grew up in that time, to the time he met the Shinigami and began training in battling the Hollows. The entirety of the first volume began when he first met the Shinigami known as Rukia Kuchiki to when she was taken away. From that reasoning, he could only assume that the rest of the story was divided similarly, beginning and ending where the scenery had changed. Say, the first volume starts in the human world, then the next two covers the events in the Soul Society and then the next covers the war with the Arrancar as so on, until it reached the Final War.

What really bothered him were the things edited in, and he wasn't talking about the nonessential details that needed to be changed for the story to be understood.

The Hollows were changed to another type of Demons, those smarter and older than anything else while the way they were formed was essentially identical to the way Hollows came to be. Soul Society was basically kept the same way, while Zanpakuto and Kidō was referred to as Spirit Weapon and Inheritable Semblances. Shino Academy was renamed, Shinigami became Demon Hunters, and countless other pieces of information were edited to ease reception.

What bothered him was the fact that the author, and this was why he was partial to the perverted Visored writing such a story, decided that they would make it an action _adult romance_ novel.

Again, he was more open-minded than most so if it was just that then he would have been unaffected.

He could deal with the fact that the protagonist, Shin his name was, _death _indeed, found comfort in the arms of his fiery childhood friend -losing something that wasn't easily lost even before the tender age of ten- before falling into a phase where all he would do was scowl while said childhood friend was doing her best to, not only get into his pants herself, but set him up with the school's goddess. He could accept the part where he sleeps with the haunted Demon Huntress after turning him into one of them when said procedure guaranteed both of their deaths when they were found out by the proper authorities. He could ignore the part where one of the protagonist's younger twin sisters seems to have the hots for him, even going as far to show certain scenes before the housekeeping sister washed the evidence away.

What he couldn't ignore was the blatant Oedipus complex, with a dead individual.

His companions in battle, his friends, and his sisters aside, that one detail alone made the task of making sure that Ichigo never lays eyes on any of the books a top priority.

It was no exaggeration that he would tear the world apart looking for the author if he had to.

The final problem, as dictated by the rule of three, came in the form of an enraged Hollow who was currently going for them without restraint.

_I knew keeping the Grimm extermination from him was a bad idea..._

He couldn't even continue that train of thought, opting to instead raise his blade, a copy of the scimitar the Quincy King used to stab the Soul King, to repel the lumbering piece of metal hurtling at him with enough speed to break the sound barrier. He wasn't surprised when his own weapon was cut, the greatsword-turned-projectile grazing his cheek as he used hirenkyaku last minute to prevent his decapitation.

Zangetsu's weapon, a giant, brutally shaped piece of his soul, much longer than he was tall and almost as wide as he was, somehow _curved _though the air, losing none of its destructive power as it flew instead towards Narius like a flying buzzsaw on a string. The Unknown braced himself, both his own blades a blur before clashing with and finally repelling the massive weapon of the Hollow.

Zangetsu himself didn't react from behind his mask, calling his weapon back with a firm tug. He didn't even wait for it to finish its flight towards him, meeting it halfway before rushing the Quincy with all the ferocity of a cornered beast.

Now Zangetsu was never the fastest fighter, or the smartest, or the most skilled, but when it came to pure physical power he was unparalleled. It was that same strength that hammered down on Tensa, and in a single blow he was sent hurtling back down towards the earth despite the fact he had blocked it with the flat of his sword.

He grit his teeth in frustration, hurling threads of reishi at blinding speeds even as he descended, catching the Hollow by the arm and forcing the monster to pull him up lest the white figure fall along with him. He could almost taste the Hollow's anger as Zangetsu was forced to halt Tensa's fall with his own strength, using even more of his monstrous might to break the Quincy's fall, as well as pull him back upwards.

The whiplash was painful, though not something he couldn't handle, he mused as he was suddenly yanked upwards. He could only smile wryly, preparing his own blade as he could see the Hollow's figure approaching, a fist cocked back and ready to let fly as soon as the Quincy entered his arm's reach. He was ready to dodge the blow if need be, his own blade poised to stab the monster through the hole and bisect him, just like how the Primera was dealt with, though in the end, it looked like he didn't have to.

Massive canines clicked in annoyance as Narius materialized behind Zangetsu, his twin blades falling as one and cutting through the night as it rushed to cut off the horns jutting from the Hollow's mask. Both blades, a pair off elegant nodachi, shining like silver starlight and yet bathed in an ethereal golden glow, slammed against white, though not of the horns as Zangetsu raised his forearm at the last moment, forcing the swords to grind against the iron skin of his wrist.

Such was Zangetsu's arrogance, he held his massive sword in the other hand and yet against Narius' cross cut, he didn't bother to block the attack with his blade. Still Tensa struck, taking advantage of the momentary distraction to thrust at Zangetsu's chest as soon as he entered range, though it was for naught when his reishi blade was caught in between vicious claws and was stopped in its tracks entirely.

It was arrogance deserved considering his almost impenetrable defense.

Tensa could not have predicted the next strike and was left in a daze when the mask slammed into his nose, the blow holding enough strength behind it to fling the Quincy towards the horizon even as Tensa controlled to flow around him to decelerate. He could only fling his arrows as in that moment Narius resumed the attack, disengaging his blades before they danced once more, this time striking two targets: the horns and the chest of the Hollow. With one arm Zangetsu blocked the horizontal aiming for his horns, sparks revealing the sneer of his mask as the blade collided with his arm as he simply twisted to avoid being struck directly through his Hollow hole, causing the blade to crash against his muscled chest.

Even while gaining distance, the Quincy could see Narius smile contort into a grimace before the Hollow's simultaneous strike connected, the arm he didn't use to block landing a heavy blow on the Unknown's abdomen and sending him flying. Tensa's own expression was twisted into a frown as he struggled to control the flow around him and force his own body to stop. He would have repeated his earlier tactic, in fact, if not for the obsidian and crimson wisps that gathered in the claws of the raging hollow.

They were about several hundred meters apart and from that height, the wind was practically roaring in their ears, and yet all battling in heaven heard the Hollow's harsh declaration. "**Cero Oscuras**"

Immediately, the night was made darker as a giant pillar of pure oblivion formed and threatened to consume all that had the audacity to strike its creator. To call it a spear, a beam, was a stretch in itself as the sheer width of the massive technique covered the sky, no one even wanted to try to imagine just how far the attack itself would travel if it was left unimpeded. It was not only massive on a scale that it could level the city _and _the academy far, far below them if it was directed downward, but the sheer strength of the power was palpable that even before it was fired, both the Quincy and the Unknown felt the power in such dark energy.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that had the Cero been normal, it would have turned the night high noon with the intensity of its light. Red or white, it would not matter to the eyes of those below, such was the strength of the Hollow's Cero.

_So he's not holding back anymore, huh?_

With renewed resolve, Tensa acted, taking hold of reiatsu and reishi that was his and yet not his, and began absorbing the Cero in its entirety, using himself as a filter before releasing the excess power harmlessly behind him. Quincy would never attempt something like this when fighting against a Hollow, the only leeway Tensa himself had was the fact that their reiatsu was almost identical at the core due to being fragments of the same soul.

Though his control and his capacity was massive, being a part of Ichigo, the sheer amount of power the Hollow was releasing was staggering. It was to the extent that, even confronted by half of if, there were _two beams _of darkness trying consume the sky, was a major problem. Tensa could direct the energy of the Hollow as he wished but could only take in the power in a hundred meter radius due to the extreme density of power. Though it might seem large, compared to the beam itself, such a droplet of water was nothing compared to the torrent Zangetsu unleashed.

He could only weather the monstrous torrent of power, surrounding himself with the energy before funneling it through him and releasing it into the atmosphere.

He wasn't surprised by Zangetsu's performance in battle anymore, having fought him again and again while in Ichigo's inner world. In fact, he learned that the hollow was quite simple when to came to motivation. Zangetsu, for better or for worse, was a being of instinct; the only thing distinguishing him for a genuine beast was the fact that he could talk. He was in short an animal and that made him predictable to certain degree that Tensa could easily best him nine times out of ten in normal condition. That animalistic tendency was one of the reasons he thought the hollow was not worthy of the name, the grudge of Quncy against Shinigami and Hollows aside.

That ruthlessness though, currently, was the Hollow's greatest strength when it came to battling outside Ichigo's inner world.

There, in the land of rain, more often than he liked, stone and steel, he could easily overwhelm the Hollow with a flurry of strikes, technique and finesse at the core of his fighting style. Countless times he was the victor, but now that they were outside, Zangetsu had evolved and learned enough to at least force a standstill if not force total victory.

The secret was in the surrounding area.

Whenever they battled, the Hollow had no regard for what happened to be around them, and so collateral damage was always on the high side. That forced the others to pick up the slack and make it so that the damage around them was minimized; this role is given to Narius or Tensa at times, as they had the best control over reiatsu. For safety, they battled far above ground, but there was always a chance, especially when Zangetsu was involved, that the power would prove too much and the even such a distance would be pierced.

That in turn, forced anyone attacking Zangetsu to strike from above if not from the side, to avoid forcing the Hollow to aim downwards and destroy who knows how much below them.

That made them predictable.

Against a creature that could shrug off blows meant to cleave mountains, being predictable was the same thing as staying still.

_Maybe we should follow his example..._

From the sheer power of the Cero, the air around him was rich with reishi, and from that reishi, he formed weapons. An ironic combination of the field of swords he used when training against the noble captain who broke Ichigo's pride and that same captain's once most fearsome offensive, the air around them was filled with an arena of weaponry. As numerous as the teeth in the mawscape, they circled as soon as the darkness faded, each of them poised to strike at the Hollow from any and all directions if Tensa had simply willed it.

Beyond him, behind the Hollow, Narius stood proudly, still clad in a barrier so dark that the night around him was glowing in comparison. Emerging from the dark cocoon, the Unknown's appearance had changed drastically, the suit traded for armor while the pair of blades compressed, forming a pair of short swords with the fullbring insignia etched into both the pentagonal guards. Around him the very matter, the soul of the air itself, changed and was filled with power, power ready to be unleashed at his command. Bathed in yellow light, the air itself became the Unknown's weapon, while a sense of foreboding emanated from the short swords, much more so when compared to the large nodachi.

"**It's time you pansies finally started fighting back, I'm getting so fucking bored just being here in this shithole!**" The Hollow bellowed gleefully before twirling his massive weapon, the clouds being torn at the presence of the vortex. His yellow eyes glared at both spirits, and though they didn't see it, they knew that he was grinning under that mask.

"If it's a battle you wish, then prepare yourself Hollow. I have crushed you countless times for your arrogance, this will be no different." The Quincy proclaimed in reply, even as a pair of blades flew into his grasp. From constructs of energy, the blades had evolved, taking a more solid appearance that revealed their power; might far surpassing the even the arrows produced by the old Emperor's Sankt Bogen.

"Children, if you two continue to be rowdy that I will have to put an end to all this rough play. It's quite late as it is and you kids have a big day tomorrow." The Unknown chided them teasingly, though his own power flowed outwards explosively, as if daring them both to make a move and start the fight. The grin he always wore was gone, and in its place was a scowl Ichigo would have been proud of.

No more words were exchanged as they resumed their clash, a clash that continued even after Ichigo arrived and forcefully dragged them back into his inner world.

* * *

o0OO0o

* * *

Weiss Schnee was happy, and that in itself was a normally rare occurrence.

Withe everything that happened the day before, coupled by the fact that the stress should have been mounting as the true initiation began, she should have been terribly irate, or at least more abrasive that she usually was.

But she wasn't and heaven knew how many servants would be eyeing her oddly if they say the legendary Ice Queen smiling as brightly as she did.

The previous day wasn't all as perfect as she planned it to be. As plain as it began, the words 'a plan never survives first contact with the enemy' couldn't prove any truer when she first landed in Beacon Academy. She thought what would greet her was a welcome from the headmaster himself, a few words to prepare them for the hectic lives they would be living as students, and by extension, the even more perilous journey they would eventually take as Hunters. She thought that maybe, just maybe, they would take on the initiation immediately, and would be thrust in situations that would force them to display the skills they used to pass the preliminary entrance exam.

She didn't expect a little girl to literally explode in her face.

It wasn't even funny, and not only that, the friend of the little sprite even blamed her for the entire thing. The nerve of some blond... ruffian, despite the obviously fine suit he wore, was appalling, and when the only person who was lucid enough to match her name to her face promptly betrayed her, she knew that the only other path would be a strategic retreat.

After that she was blessed with a few minutes of respite, but even that peaceful time couldn't last, as again the annoying little dolt appeared, surrounded by her peers and again they got into an argument. All she wanted personally, was for the little girl to leave her alone and have nothing to do with her, but little red had other ideas, and tried to offer a hand of friendship.

_Like I would even consider being friends with such an insufferable dolt..._

She dealt with the child promptly and after the headmaster's speech, which was a disappointment to say the least, she tried to get herself some rest. Getting rid of another blond who got the wrong idea was much easier than she expected considering the already significant metal fatigue dealing with the little girl brought, and finally she could see the rest of the day fly by from the safety of the ballroom.

She didn't think the boredom could be so grating.

The ballroom, at that point was empty, save a few other stragglers who shared her idea of a quick rest, but even then dinner was still hours away. The schedule was quite loose compared to her usually tight daily itinerary; they would arrive sometime a couple hours after lunch and have dinner when appropriate. That left quite a few hours of free time left for the students to do what they wanted, from exploring the school grounds, to speaking to any teacher they would come across and the most popular choice: getting to know the peers they would be attending Beacon with for the next four years.

She would not risk doing any of them and so instead, she remained in stillness and quietly trained. A teacher of hers once said that to fully master anything, be it the sword, Dust, her aura and by extension herself, she would have to one day separate herself from such things and continue practicing with nothing but her mind.

She almost wished she didn't.

In the silence of the deserted ballroom, she trained, her body still but her mind comprehending, analyzing, and working at dizzying speeds.

Every form she recalled perfectly, replaying moments in her mind as if she was actually performing them even as she lay motionless in her sleeping bag. The feel on her rapier lingered on her palm as the feeling of drawing out the power of Dust using her Aura filled her body. Countless battles were playing in her mind, starting with the fateful clash against a giant metal knight that had drawn first blood.

She remembered everything, from the latest battle she had with a knight set to the highest level, to the first time she ever regained the will to fight, if only for the broken family she had left and the hope that somehow somewhere sh would be able to...

A sigh escaped her lips, really she couldn't think about her family without blowing up and trying to kill something or going to the corner to cry for a bit. It was just so depressing _and _infuriating at times, so as a smart individual she did what she thought would be best. Selecting the lesser of two evils, she went out and headed to where she assumed they would dine, knowing that whatever life would throw at her couldn't possibly be even worse that what she already experienced at that point.

Tempting fate aside, there was actually a good thing that arose from going to the cafeteria early. It could be explained in two words, in fact.

Pyrrha Nikos.

This was the girl who one the Mistral Regional Tournament four times in a row, breaking the old record and taking the spot for herself. That alone qualified her for the position of strongest _person_ in their year; it went without a doubt that she was the strongest girl in their year. Weiss included, the group of people who she would have trouble with could be counted with both hands and there still would be fingers to spare, and that was neglecting segregation by gender. Male or female, the great champion of Mistral would not be denied in combat unless one was five steps ahead of her at least. Confronting her with pure power was also impossible unless the difference was just that large.

She was also, strangely enough, extremely nice, to the degree that it was like talking to any other person off the street no matter what circumstances they were in. Generally, she was a genial person, and unless one would cross the bounds of common decency, she would behave in a manner that would please everybody. She was never confrontational, choosing to work around the problem instead of using force everyone knew she had. She didn't even wave her influence around, opting to stand aside and let whatever efforts she would give to speak for itself. If Weiss would be forced to look for a flaw in the flame-haired goddess, the ice queen would simply reply that she looked much too perfect.

Of course, as the daughter of a renowned business establishment and the heiress herself, she knew just how to exploit such a valuable resource.

And so, the plan to convince the strongest girl to join forces with her began.

It was difficult to remain objective, faced with such warmth, such gentle acceptance was something the ice queen was not used to any many times along the way, _that was just from the dinner they shared,_ she found herself wondering whether or not she wanted to use the champion or simply befriend her. It was the reunion between her and the trio of black, red, and yellow that reminded her of her true purpose, she needed a teammate she could actually work with if she didn't want to fail.

Heaven forbid it, but she thought it was better to just flunk out rather than being paired up by the insufferable little red riding hood, the yellow cow who spoke like a brute, or the black enigma who somehow managed to shift from supportive to vindictive in a blink of an eye. She wouldn't know what to do if they were all dragged together in the same team...

That aside, all her plans had finally culminated in that one, precisely planed moment. Hours spent by socializing, gaining her trust and subtly manipulating the champion would all come down to the moment she popped the question.

"So Pyrrha," She began as naturally as possible, pointedly ignoring the pair of infuriating siblings that were arguing across them and the whining of the blond boy who had annoyed her the day before. "Have you put any thought on whose team you would like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself." A little flattery also helped, especially when the compliment was in fact true and she needed something from others.

The champion in question hummed innocently, her expression changing to one of deep pondering as her eyes wandered for a while. "I'm not quite sure." She admitted truthfully, obvious confidence radiating her form. It made sense, she was the best of the girls, and arguably the best of the year, that being said she didn't really need to worry about who's team she was going to be assigned to. No matter the circumstances, she would be exemplary. "I was planning to let the chips fall where they may."

This was it, the crystallization of her efforts rode on one simple invitation. "Well," She drew it out, acting quite nervous in the face of such a might fighter. Most people liked being recognized for their strength after all, whether it be obvious or subtle. "I was thinking that we could be on the same team together." Then she let it out in the open; a statement even a idiot would not be able to misinterpret. It was not a question, but a statement of her hopes, and so there were only two ways of reply.

Acceptance or rejection, nothing in between about it.

Fortunately, the champion seemed to approve of the heiress' plan, if her expression was anything tog go by. "Well that sound's grand." The reply had a bit of well meaning mirth in her voice, a giggle not exactly directed at the content of the statement. She giggled a bit, though it was most likely due to excitement at the thought of having a team that a sarcastic remark about the heiress asking her to be on the same team. It was happy acceptance if she ever did see it.

"Great!" She could only voice her own pleasure at the result of her planning, her mind buzzing with the possibilities opened up by the ensuing partnership.

_This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class combined with the strongest girl in class! Together we will be unstoppable! I can see it now! We'll be popular! We'll be celebrities! We'll get perfect grades! _

Yes, Weiss Schnee was happy, but like the time she landed, even such a blessing was immediately followed by a curse. To start things off, her expression was something one could only describe as suspicious. Her eyes were eyeing her weapon, she had to look away from the champion, conivingly while she rubbed her hands together in a manner much more suited to a cliche villainess than a person of her position. If it wasn't for the open locker than she was sure the Pyrrha would have noticed it, not that she would comment about it due to her being much too nice.

And so, with her beloved Myrtenaster hanging on her waist, fully loaded and ready for action, and a partner securing her future, she closed the door to her locker and smiled at her colleague. Of course, even she didn't expect the light tap of a hand leaning on her locker door reaching her ears and the next thing she knew, there stood a proud blond boy, leaning on her locker and smiling down on her like it was the most natural thing in the world. If she was honest with herself, she would have admitted that the boy looked a bit charming, if wearing a hoodie covered with armor and faded out jeans was charming, but then she knew better.

She knew him to be an idiot, and not just any normal, run of the mill idiot, but a _dense_ idiot. This was the of the types of people she hated dealing with the most.

What was notable was Pyrrha's reaction to the appearance of the boy. If it was Weiss being ignored while she was having a conversation with the champion then she would have been fuming with righteous anger against whoever thought it was a good idea to turn their back on a Schnee. In contrast, Pyrrha passively stepped aside and let him occupy the space in front of her, an expression of flat curiosity plastered on her face. At that Weiss simply refused to sigh, the girl was just too nice.

"You know what else is great?" He asked rather smoothly as he leaned in closer, false confidence radiating from him like a lighthouse in the night. It was disgusting, and quite sad, but all these she did not feel as the headache she had since the first day suddenly resurfaced with a vengeance. He even had the gall to smile like he knew her before jabbing his thumb at his breast plate. "Me, Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

"You again?" Weiss allowed her voice to flow with annoyance, hoping to whatever god was above that he would take the hint as she glared at him with arms crossed before her chest.

Pyrrha, again, behaved in a way that contrasted Weiss' cold treatment, greeting the blond boy with a genuine smile and a simple wave. "It's nice to meet you, Jaune." She called from behind him, quickly maneuvering around him so she stood at Weiss' side as she conversed with the boy. At that point, she was content. As long as she had Pyrrha's support than she could weather whatever idiocy the Jaune fellow had in store for her.

She just didn't expect him to act even more of an idiot.

"Yeah, yeah." He uttered dismissively, gently but firmly guiding the _strongest girl in their entire year_ aside before once more taking the position closest to the Heiress. "So, Weiss, couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day." He added conversationally, his pride at being noticed by the heiress quite apparent as he flexed his arm in front of her. At that point she had to look away from the display for a moment and try to regain whatever brain cells she had left.

First off, he was a horrible show off, lacking skill and tact. Case in point, his arm was covered by his sleeve until the forearm and even then, the leather straps that attached his vambraces to his arms were thick enough that even if he did flex, neither she not Pyrrha could perceive whatever muscle he may or may not have had. Second, she had yet to wrap her mind around the fact that he just pushed Pyrrha, 'Flame-Haired Gladiator/Invincible Girl/Goddess of Victory/' Nikos aside. It boggled the mind how he had the nerve, the bravery, the idiocy, or any combination of the three to actually do such a thing, and the worst part was that she didn't seem to mind at all.

At that point the only thought in her head was something that slipped from her tongue. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She muttered sharply, burying her forehead in her palm as she struggled to regulate her breathing. There was steel in her voice, venom that could only be directed at him and yet it was like she didn't even scare him in the least. Just as she feared, something even worse occurred; he misinterpreted her intentions entirely.

"Don't worry! No need to be embarrassed!" He actually tried to comfort her with a smile, waving his hands dismissively before leaning forward. "So, been hearing rumors about teams! I was thinking you and me would make a good one! What do you say?"

Weiss had never been more thankful that Pyrrha, jumped the grenade for her so to speak, getting the boy's attention and severing as a distraction. "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-"

"You don't say." He interrupted her flatly, before turning his back on Weiss and moving on to attack Pyrrha. Now, normally the prideful Heiress would be absolutely livid, but considering this was Jaune, she felt relief and quite an amount of pity for the champion. "Well, hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you could join up with the winning team."

_This idiocy just has to stop now._

"Jaune, was it?" She quickly interjected, pushing away the boy who had no regard for personal space away from the champion before taking a place between them. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

At least the boy was honest. "Not in the slightest, snow angel."

Her eye twitched once more, as if it was her she ignored, but she simply continued. "This is Pyrrha."

"Hello again!" It was amazing how a girl of her stature could be so chipper even after her image was left forgotten by the blond fool.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum!" She proclaimed proudly, rolling her eyes, not because there was a faint tinge of red dusting the champion's cheeks, but because the incessant blond had not stopped making 'goo-goo' eyes at her.

She didn't know if the reason he replied the way he did was he was so fixated on her, which sent chills down her spine on its own, or if he was just that stupid. "Never heard of it."

She scoffed at his ignorance. "She's won the Mistral Region Tournaments four years in a row! A new record!" This was getting out of hand, even he had to have heard of the tournaments that took place all around the world. Vale even has a contemporary event to match, as well as the world renown Vytal Festival.

"The what?"

_For the love of all that is right in the world..._

He was childish, and stupid, so if he didn't get the final reference, _someone _was going to get stabbed. "She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box!" She finally snapped, waving her around around like a child throwing a tantrum while she vented her frustration at the blond boy.

Finally what she was trying to say, reached the boy who started behaving somewhat appropriately. Don't get her wrong, gasping and behaving like a schoolgirl is far from appropriate, but it was much better that cold indifference. "That's You?! I thought they only did that for star athletes and cartoon characters."

The champion herself was surprised to see the usually composed heiress flip out, but she quickly regained her composure and took the praise gracefully. "Yeah, it was pretty cool." Weiss couldn't help but feel suspicious of the bashful smile she wore, but thought nothing of it in the end."Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you."

The most important part of this little skit was to hammer in the fact that they were leagues above him in terms of ability.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" The Heiress asked coolly, finally crushing the boy's spirit. Even she had to take great measures to make sure no one saw the vengeful smirk on his face.

"I guess not." He slouched dejectedly before preparing to leave the pair. "Sorry."

_Finally he's taken the hint..._

The last thing she expected was Pyrrha coming up to him and ruining all they worked for. "Actually, Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader!" Of all the things she could have done, she lay a hand on his shoulder and encouraged him.

That one comment was enough to restore the spirit of the boy that was much too difficult to break. "Oh, stop it!" He gushed childishly, like a schoolgirl who was praised by her idol.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged!" She chided the champion placing her hands on her hips, groaning inwardly as the boy once more resumed his assault.

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for Team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick! Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings, find a place for you. What do you say?" He spoke suavely, once again relying on confidence he really shouldn't have to force the issue when it was clear she wanted nothing to do with him. She would have reacted earlier but then again, he closed the distance much too quickly for her to act without risking... unwanted contact.

"All right, that's a bit too close!" She quickly took a step back, with both her hands up for good measure, in a panic Once, when she was caught off guard was one thing, twice was another. "Pyrrha, a little help, please?!"

She kept him at bay long for her trusty partner-in-all-but-name to act. From her vantage point, Pyrrha seemed to be relying solely on muscle memory, calling forth her weapon from the locker and hurling the javelin with the ease only gained from hours and hours of practice and experience. The idiot had enough time to turn around to greet his unexpected foe before the spear caught him by the hood and began it's quick journey to the end of the hallway and into one of the many support columns in the large locker area.

Weiss stepped aside to make way for the blond's flying form, her only regret being his back was turned and so she could not savor the expression he made the moment he realized just how far up shit creek he was stuck without a paddle. 'Asshole.' She mouthed viciously, thinking herself far above the level of the vulgar utterances.

Because she refused to give voice to them, they obviously didn't count.

"Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Kaiser was tired.

Sure, he was one of the youngest of the modsouls, and to be frank, the most advanced in terms of ability even before they were thrust into the foreign dimension, but that didn't mean he had the fortitude to match the Hero of the Winter War. Fighting for a full day at full power all the way, he needed to match Ichigo's own significant kill count somehow, was enough to wind him, though it was probably nothing to the boy who literally fought for about three months straight if Tensa, Brennan, was reliable.

Yes, that last horde, the third one, was in fact, just the beginning of an even bigger force that managed to congregate under the Academy's nose. The had to fight for hours, and considering the considerable prowess of Ichigo and himself combined, that was some significantly large force.

To put it into perspective, Ichigo used enough strength to create a giant clearing in a single slash, forcing the Grimm to form up there and be slaughtered. If something, this was discounting Kaiser's own contribution, forced a power of that magnitude to fight for what amounted to a _whole day_ then one could be sure that there were _a lot of Grimm._ That same clearing made the job of finding the relics easier moot point, but that didn't really matter to them. What did matter, and again this was underline the sheer strength of the teen, was the fact that the entire field was literally bursting with reiatsu that even accelerating the growth of plants in the area was almost impossible.

Now, a part of the forest was a plain, thanks to a _single solitary attack, _and even then it was still not enough to fully exterminate all the _dangerous_ Grimm in the area.

So yeah, he was exhausted actually keeping up with the boy beside him, who didn't look any worse for wear even after he did that _and_ stopped his crazy spirits from rampaging in the high heavens.

As such, even he didn't notice the sound of a weapon whistling through the air until Ichigo swooped in and caught the sucker sent flying by...

_The little girl? __Oh right, she was attending her, wasn't she?_

His own fatigue aside, he could still follow Ichigo's movements as he saved... the little boy his wife somehow took a liking to.

The maneuver itself was masterfully executed, beginning with, of course, Ichigo moving from Kaiser's side to the area Jaune would pass through in a single step. After taking a solid stance, Ichigo stood rooted in the spot firmly enough to catch both the spear, apparently it was a scarlet and golden javelin, in his left hand and the lovable idiot's shoulder in his right. Even though they were flying as one, Ichigo easily stopped the javelin, the lighter of the two objects, by simply excising his strength, while he allowed Jaune to continue on an altered path, using himself as the fulcrum while rotating to allow the excess momentum to be used up in the most efficient way possible.

When the pair stopped, he could see Ichigo looking disapprovingly at Jaune, not because he had gotten himself in such a situation -Kaiser himself knew that the idiot was even more troublesome than he was- but because the blond looked about ready to hurl... again.

That little occurrence, as well as the situation the orange-haired prude seemed to be unaware about drew the perfect response for the modsoul in human form.

"Why am I not surprised?"

Of course, no matter how much smarter Ichigo had gotten after the past years, even he still wasn't sharp enough to immediately catch the meaning of the older Huntsman.

"So you planned something like this, you asshole?" Ichigo whispered threateningly, the force of his reiatsu, although sealed as much as possible, began concentrating and bearing down on Kaiser's form. True he was armed, but supporting the form of Jaune still in a daze looked rather silly. "I know you pull a lot of shit on me, but to take it out on a kid just because Nozomi has the-"

With a shit-eating grin, Kaiser promptly smacked the boy on the upside of the head. "We're in school, Ichigo." He tsked condescendingly, wagging his finger like he was talking down to a child. "Outside the sparring arena, I am hold dominion over you as a teacher." Even using big words seemed to be infuriating the boy; even Kaiser wasn't stupid enough to poke a Hollow with a stick too often. "Now, go greet you're friends. It's rude to keep two flowers in the sun for too long, you know?"

With such an abrupt change in topic, even an irate Ichigo had to take a moment to think. "That's not even a say-" He cut himself off when he turned in the direction the spear flew from, quite astonished at the sight of a pair of girls. His eyes shifted from the girls, particularly to the redhead, and then to the spear in hand, then to Jaune before shaking his head in exasperation. "Why am _I_ not surprised. You walked right into that, Jaune."

Only Kaiser understood where the boy came from, nodding sagely as Jaune gaped in surprise. The little snowflake was equal parts confused and satisfied, since it looked like he was rebuking the blond for making a mistake even when he didn't seem to know the context of the situation. The beauty in red, a much more grown up version of the child Ichigo dealt with in his childhood, had the decency to blush at the accusation, though she could not really defend herself.

"Wha?" Jaune blurted out, still recovering from the spin, and steadied himself. "What just happened?"

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" The princess followed up, going with the default offended tone aristocrats loved using, unaware of the fact that she was siding with the blond idiot.

"I believe there is a misunderstanding here." The redhead offered in an appeasing manner, trying to play peacemaker in that situation, only for the Strawberry to shoot her a suspicious gaze.

"So you didn't try to pin Jaune to the wall?" Ichigo pressed, his scowl not as deep as usual while the edges of his lips threatened to rise.

"I admit that happened but-" She quickly excused herself, though the hardened prude gave her no respite.

"You didn't use violence as the first option?" He continued the attack, quickly following up as she defended.

"I wouldn't call it violence, or the first option and it was to help out-" Again she was interrupted, the guilt obvious on her face not doing her any favors.

It was the princess who interjected this time. "Woah, woah, woah. Tall, dark and orange, do you even know who your talking to?" Like clockwork, she rose to the defense of her companion, outrage in her expression as she stepped forward and jabbed the Hero of the Winter War, in the chest. Somewhere, there was a slight hint of recognition in her eyes, but once he started speaking,that glimmer soon disappeared.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Ichigo announced easily, nodding to herself. The gaze he gave her was piercing, to the extent that even the idiot and the princess thought it was a good idea to stay silent. "You still owe me a sundae."

Their reactions were identical: pure surprise. The princess was shocked that someone that looked like him, a tall muscular boy who's appearance screamed 'I am a troublemaker', knew someone as famous as Pyrrha Nikos. The idiot was still trying to process what happened and the fact that, for the first time in a long time, Ichigo claimed that him being assaulted was, in a strange way, not chiefly his fault. Kaiser himself was reeling from the fact that the serious, stoic, scowling Ichigo made a joke of all things.

He knew the boy, much better than most, and even then Ichigo would insult, not joke, and definitely not joke with some girl who wasn't Arisawa Tatsuki.

But the butt of the joke was indignant. "That was one time! And you!" She didn't even try to disguise the childish whine she began using. "How many times have I had to suffer your... your... defenestration!"

"What?" Blond and white intoned offhandedly.

"Throwing something, or in this case, someone, out a window." Kaiser supplied helpfully, looking forward to the reaction most people gave when they realized this.

_3... 2... 1... and now._

"What!?"

The two just seemed to ignore them though.

"Not my fault, _someone _just happened to challenge me all the time?" Ichigo retorted smoothly, glaring down at the champion with confident eyes. "If you had given up then you wouldn't have hit the ice cream truck."

"You deflected that move and you know it!" Pyrrha quipped without missing a beat, palpable heat in her tone though her volume remained appropriate.

"And what was I supposed to do with a shield coming to take my head off and a lance making a beeline to my heart?!"

"You should have taken it like a man!"

"Like hell I would have!"

For a moment, everything in the small area froze in trepidation as the two predators glared at each other, the tension already thick enough to cut with any of the weapons they possessed and still rising. The Princess scooted behind Pyrrha, ready to defend her friend if the situation called for it. Such an action spoke of two things, faith in Pyrrha's strength and acknowledgement of Ichigo's own significant power.

Not everyone, no, no one has every earned the ire of the Goddess of Victory before the Hero of the Winter War.

Kaiser smirked with anticipation, noting the many subtle hints the two were giving. To the untrained eye, they were about to clash at a moment's notice but he knew better. The positioning of their feet, the way they clenched their fists in anticipation, the sheer pressure they emitted, not by releasing reiatsu, or in the girl's case, Aura, but just by the way they unwavering glared into each other's eyes.

Strangely enough, the other one who could predict what would ensue was none other that Jaune.

In an instant, the tension dissipated as the sound of laughter echoed around the large locker room. The princess simply stared in surprise as the two of them started chuckling for some reason, as if they never entered an argument in the first place.

"My charge, Jaune." Ichigo began, regaining his scowl even if his voice remained uncharacteristically light. "Jaune, I'm sure you've been acquainted with Pyrrha." He handed her the spear, which she quickly received before slinging it onto her back. Both Kaiser and Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the action, though Ichigo waved it off as something unimportant.

Kaiser already knew what was going on.

"I told him he would make an excellent leader one day. I'm sure we agree on that if nothing else." Pyrrha answered with a smile and a wave, prompting no response from Ichigo but a small titter for Kaiser. "Weiss, this is Kurosaki Ichigo, a friend who visits us every so often with Professor Bostov here. Ichigo, this is Weiss Schnee."

The princess was about to return the pleasantries before Ichigo beat her to the punch.

"We've met." Ichigo said after giving her a quick glance. "Though it was a while ago and in a dark place so I don't know if she remembers me, I'm glad you were the one who dealt with Jaune though, a spear to the hood is much better than a bite to the hand. Or are you much too refined to do something like that, _Princess_?"

The princess seemed shocked. She looked at him once, twice, thrice to make sure but there was no mistaking the tone he used or, and she really should have noticed earlier, his hair and eyes. Her own light blue widened in recognition, but even as her mouth opened to speak there was a voice that spoke through the many intercoms scattered around the room. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

That was the signal for the only professor in the room to pick up the pace. "Alright kids, you guys can bond and catch up over killing a few monsters." He had to force down a laugh when he heard the little girl a little ways away say something that sounded suspiciously like 'See, someone get's it.' "Move along now, before the Good Witch gets any prissier after you kids made her wait."

He left, walking towards the exit of the room at a brisk pace, though not before whispering into Ichigo's ear. "You can thank me later, and take care of the two flowers now, _Strawberry._"

No one commented on the rather large piece of rock that struck him in the head shortly after.

* * *

**AN**

**Sorry for the lateness of this, I was just having trouble finding out where to cut it. Seriously, I can go on and on but then one chapter with, what, 40k words isn't really the best, or most efficient ways to go about things. Life is also starting to hit, as well as insomnia and a lot of writer's block. **

**Why do you plague me, writer's block? I'm not even one of the best ones out there!**

**Anyway, I am very, very proud to say that I may or may not have dissembled the canon plot by executing the final scene the way I did. **

**From the get go I had major problems with the character of the Canon Sue, who's only flaw would be that she's too perfect that she _drives away _potential candidates. Serious, it's so messed up to grow up like everyone thinks you're so perfect that they avoid any attempt at making a relationship, because, aside from Weiss who is also up there on the totem pole, she has about ZERO friends. Yang has friends, Ruby had friends, Blake had an army... of sorts, Weiss didn't seem to want friends, Ren and Nora have each other, Jaune apparently tries so he had to succeed at some point, and well everyone else is irrelevant. **

**So by inserting Ichigo, her better in combat in every way, save flexibility, should change her attitude, at least around him, and make her not the emotional wreck canon painted her as. Jaune's not exactly useless here either, so that particular pairing, and I really thank you guys for not asking anymore, is up in the air.**

**Jaune not being useless, well we'll have to see that later on.**

**Weiss also has a blast from the past, though that will come up later since we can't have her turning all mushy immediately now can we? Of course that's not going to happen, It will take more than that to melt a frozen heart so there. She will change though, the fact that it would be good or bad with depend on how the plot goes now that Pyrrha has no reason to make a beeline for Jaune. Also, at least in the youtube version, she really does mouth something while there is no audio, so I just filled it in. **

**I still refuse to acknowledge the fact that she fell in love with him after that one stupid meeting!**

**Blake... will be there, as well as everyone else, though the forest battles will be a bit, okay a lot, different that what we see in canon.**

**To the rest of them, well I hope they acted out properly. Ruby gushing is just her, especially when it's combat related. Though Yang wanted to abandon Ruby at first, the fact that she save a spot meant that she would have to evaluate any and all friends Ruby made. The elder sister is still the elder sister. Narius is a smooth operator and a punner, a male version of Yang for now but that will change soon. Tensa(Brennan) is patient as they come but even he has limits and that will play a part later. Also there are other things going around so I hope the more observant people can find that. Ichigo is still unreliable, but that will change next chapter.**

**Even he's not stupid enough to reveal his hand from the get go. Willing plot induced weakness coming soon.**

**To all those who reviewed, thanks for the support. Not much needs to be addressed except the teams will be announced next time and the pairing of the story, as I said,**

**I haven't come up with it yet, sorry XD**

**Anyway, I'mma wrap this up before I go to sleep**

**This has been Proccit**

**SEE YA! =))**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Let The Games Begin**

* * *

Narius would be lying if he said that he wasn't excited.

He wasn't as much of a battle nut as Zangetsu was but to be perfectly fair a little bloodshed, whether it be the blood of a human or the thick repulsive ichor that stained his blades when fighting Grimm, was always good for the soul. Looming over the Grimm infested forest and enjoying the morning breeze fly past them, he smiled at what was to come, and at the obvious apprehension of two specific people who seemed to be shaking in worry. He smiled gently, though as all faced the two professors stationed slightly to the right of the group, no one could see the expression that belied insanity hidden beneath.

He had no trouble with the test itself. The level of Grimm currently in the forest was at par with a basic Hollow at best, and the amount was far lesser than he expected. And while the forest itself covered a significant amount of land, his senses told him that the layout of the terrain was extremely straightforward. Save for a cave, a large ruin complex, what he assumed to be the temple, and the large clearing that practically erupted with reiatsu, the forest itself was monotonous, devoid of any major landmarks and changes.

He would have called it boring if it didn't give him time to stretch for a while.

Though, of course there was one thing grating on his nerves under the veneer of a smile he wore, and that was the fact that they were hunting with other people for the first time in quite a while. To leave no room for misunderstanding, it wasn't as if he doubted the capabilities of the students around him. The fact was the exact opposite as he could feel the strength rolling off of them in waves, of course, that was in comparison to some of the more mundane citizens.

It simply wasn't fair to compare a faucet of water or a pool pump to something akin to a monsoon or a typhoon in terms of power.

That was just it, when it came right down to it, the sheer output Ichigo, Brennan, Zangetsu, and himself displayed in combat was so overwhelming at times that collateral damage just couldn't be avoided. It wasn't as if they didn't know how to aim their attacks as Ichigo himself was quite proficient in controlling his signature attack as well as several wide range Kido. It was just the pure power contained in their swings was so great that if they wanted to end a fight quickly, it would involve cutting the Grimm, as well as anything up to five meters behind it at the very least.

They dreaded to think of the worst case scenario when back then, it was possible to reduce a mountain to dust without resorting to full power. More than the test of surviving the forest and its many monstrous inhabitants, they were more worried about the damage they may very likely cause the students in the heat of battle. Their own special test wasn't to make it though the forest below, but to improve the efficiency as well as control of their massive power.

To Narius that in itself was exciting enough.

There was also the fact that watching Ruby and Jaune silently shiver with nervousness was one of the most amusing things he had seen that week.

He had only known Ruby for a good day and even then he could tell she had problems with people. The fact that she went and bragged about having friends in front of her sister after the ceremony kind of had a hand in cementing that belief. There were also mentions of teams floating around, and though he knew that the way they were to be broken up was essentially hidden till the last minute, the child seemed to put more weight on that problem than necessary. In his perspective, it was something to be left to the instructors considering they literally held the lives of the children in their hands, and as such they were expected to make sure that the students would benefit no matter the situation.

On the other hand, they had some control over Kaiser, a teacher at the institution, so they had a bit more leeway than most.

In the situation of Jaune, he was somewhat dejected after the debacle with Weiss, a bit frightened after learning of the secret history between Pyrrha, a star athlete, and Ichigo, a training partner from hell, and presently quite worried about the initiation. From the looks of things, he wasn't worried about having to fight creatures of Grimm in the wild, without insurance that came with fighting under direct supervision of Hunters ready to help. The fact that he would have to be working with three other people for the next four years didn't seem to faze him either, even when a few minutes ago, the only people he offered to team up with rejected him. He looked more afraid of the height they stood on than anything else.

_At least some things never change_...

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." He had to shake himself from idly musing when Professor Ozpin finally spoke.

Narius had to rein in a chuckle that threatened to escape him when he thought about being evaluated by whatever was in the forest below him. If something large and in charge, like maybe a Menos level Grimm didn't appear then he wouldn't even have to draw his blades to deal with anything in his way. Still, even if he could end a battle in a blink of an eye, that didn't mean he wouldn't play with his food before swallowing the monsters.

He supposed that it was for the best, it would be extremely embarrassing for the school if students died before the semester even started.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion." Glynda Goodwitch, the woman in Zangetsu's words, 'kept a crop strapped to her leg and another way up her ass', informed them with a formal tone, not unlike a lecturer in her element, while she handled her scroll with utmost permission. "You will be given teammates... today."

"What?" He could hear Ruby whimper helplessly even from the other side of the line up. He couldn't see it from where he was, though it would not be to difficult to imagine the younger girl biting her lip in an attempt to quell her nervousness. Her worry, as unfounded as it was, was amusing to him, especially since he on the other hand, had nothing to be afraid off. The reason for that could be explained if one was among the four teenagers the night before, and the third professor before them.

"You kids should be thankful." He interjected teasingly, eyeing Ruby like an older sibling would a panicking little girl. "Back in our day initiation took a week. It was survival of the fittest where every other minute you had to kill Grimm or else they would kill you, and without supplies too! At least you kids will never know how it feels like to look for food when the only thing living in the area are other students and Grimm. And people actually died back then too, though strangely enough there was never an issue where a student killed and ate another, I always thought that would be the main reason." Some chuckled at Kaiser's antics, half ignoring his stories and half recognizing that he was there to ease them into the initiation.

_If they ever find out that he isn't joking though..._

It would not be a mistake to say that his confidence was founded on Kaiser. It took quite a while, but with the combined efforts of Ichigo, Tensa, and himself, Zangetsu was restrained and their defacto leader was able to explain himself.

In exchange for a bit of information, Ichigo was forced to go with Kaiser and exterminate quite an unsettling number of Grimm. Zangetsu's threat of mutiny aside, such a subpar task only provided subpar information, that being the assignment of teams not being set in stone and more often than not, different for each year. What Kaiser did manage to tell him was that the headmaster would give them a chance to influence the teams and that it was possible to form a team comprising the four of them if they tried.

If they really tried, the forest below them would be a smoking crater, so how hard could forming a team be?

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." The headmaster continued, at least nodding at Kaiser in acknowledgement. Though it was quickly hidden by a coffee mug, the nostalgic and somewhat mischievous smile the oldest looking man in the area revealed was not lost on Narius. Even the Unknown knew that a bomb was about to be dropped, while Ruby simply groaned a bit more warily. "That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

He could almost hear glass shattering in the background while the little girl lost all composure. "What?!" Her voice rose a couple octaves higher, though no one seemed to notice. Her worries were not unfounded, considering just how important sight was in general to any and all beings that moved. In the animal kingdom, there are a few that manage to change such a trend, but generally better eyes meant higher survival rates and higher rankings in the food chain.

To suddenly sever such an important sense, or at least to attempt to sever it without prior training was suicide. Very few of the students, the four notwithstanding, would attempt to go and walk the forest blind if only to influence the partner they would be stuck with for the duration of their stay at Beacon. To them, the priority would be to live through the initiation first, get good partners second.

_If it's something like eye contact, then of course we're being observed. We'll have to rely on reiatsu then..._

Narius had no problem exploiting such a rare ability, in terms of Aura of course, to his advantage.

This would be easier than he thought.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest." Ozpin continued in a nonchalant tone, his expression betraying nothing but complete composure as he continued to sip his coffee... or whatever was in that mug of his. "You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you _will_ die."

This time it was Jaune's turn to chuckle awkwardly before swallowing so hard it was audible. If one didn't know any better, they would think that Jaune was afraid of the Grimm below when more accurately, he was afraid of the ground below. For some strange reason, Jaune wasn't a very big fan of being flung at high speeds into the horizon. At the same time, he still wasn't used to it after being used as a punching bag by Ichigo whenever the eldest Arc requested that they duel. Zangetsu managed to get along with the old man for that reason, even if they only met once.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene." He pointedly ignored Kaiser's widening grin as he made the bluff, continuing the explanation without a beat in between. "You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?"

It was no surprise that Jaune was the first to break the silence. "Yeah...Um... Sir?"

"Good." The blond was blatantly ignored by the green clad professor. "Now, take you're positions."

Narius wasn't surprised be the suddenness of the professor's instructions as not even a moment passed when he was launched into the air at a speed that would surprise most. To one used to fighting at speeds that boggled the mind, he was practically standing still. He didn't fret as much as Jaune obviously would, nor did he do anything quite like what the students behind him, but with a flash of green the air was his to command.

That was how Bringer Light worked, the air would become as solid as ground to provide a platform to stand on. If one wished to move, what was ground as solid as brick would become even more elastic than rubber and fling the user through the air at whatever speed he wished. It was also possible to break, thickening the air slowly until it was as viscous as honey for a more comfortable stop or simply forming a solid platform to land on. But he didn't slow down, or stop.

He accelerated.

_Now, where is that temple?_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"I'M SO FUCKING BORED!" Zangetsu roared into the forest, shaking the leaves off of trees with the sheer power of his voice and attracting Grimm by the scores with his unfathomable rage.

They were many around him, Beowolves and Ursai of all sizes gathered in an effort to consume the source of such negativity. The forest floor was black with the shadow of the trees and the bodies of the Grimm, a sea of utter darkness under the green canopy where in the center stood a solitary white figure none of the monsters dared approach alone. Mighty as they were, they each seemed to acknowledge the threat of the one they surrounded, and as such, even if they lacked conventional intelligence, they all waited with hungry growls for others of join their ranks. Individually, they knew on an instinctual level that they were not enough, what they couldn't have known was that no number of reinforcements could save them from the Hollow they foolishly gathered against.

He spat on the dirt, it didn't matter if one or a hundred ants came together to try and end him. He would exterminate them.

Zangetsu didn't draw his sword, if he did, he would end up destroying half the forest and everything in it, instead he called upon a most peculiar ability he had developed.

Around him, ribbons fluttered in the breeze, snaking upwards as they danced ominously above and among the monsters that surrounded him. Even as they registered him as a monster worthy of instinctive fear, they were blind to the crimson streams that silently weaved through their ranks, slowly, delicately brushing against shadowed fur and bony protrusions like a noose hanging loosely from the neck of one about to be executed.

Like the massive constrictors in jungles untold, the crimson flew at dizzying speeds, a new energy one that even the Grimm dreaded filling each chord of red as it wrapped around each limb of each monster, binding them in an instant. Their fate was decided by the frustrated monster on a whim, and while the struggled in stark rebellion, their limbs no longer headed the call, thoroughly trapped in a labyrinth or red. Their bodies surged upwards, being carried by strength not of their own as the trees served as gallows for the soulless darkness, each beast suspended from the trees by the same chords of red that seemed to tighten ever so slowly, even to the point where the limb was ready to be torn off by the sheer pressure.

The Hollow needed to give the command with a thought and the deed was done, each form prepared for execution exploding violently as the ribbons rushed ever inward in an instant, severing the body of that which it wrapped around into several pieces that littered the forest floor. A gesture was all that was required to arrange for the curtain of energy to surround him, hiding him from the view of any camera that could be lurking in the shadows as he feasted.

Not in the literal sense of course. As a Hollow, he would consume things by literally eating it, but he was not totally Hollow, not anymore. It was a shadow of what the Quincy King could accomplish, but the velvet ribbons gingerly picked up each fading piece before, just for a moment, the crimson was dyed black as each fragment of power entered the Hollow through his spirit ribbons. The energy seeped into him in a light trickle as each piece steadily vanished, nothing left of them but the aura of evil that flew on the wind. He didn't even smile at his kill, he wasn't so immature that he would act like a child who had just poured hot water over an anthill.

He didn't lower his barrier, that gave him an excuse to release as much anger as he could in hopes of attracting a strong enough monster.

Rage he had not felt in a long while intermingled with cold boredom as he walked through the trees of the Emerald Forest, his expression set to one of boredom and disappointment.

After listening to the explanation the king gave prior to the launch, detailing just what had happened the day before and why he was absent, the Hollow was absolutely livid. It was a breach of trust first of all, that the King would just ditch them in the hell that was a college opening ceremony like that to go hunting in the forest when there was a large number of potentially lethal Grimm hanging around. Second he was angry because, _for the student's safety,_ they killed all of the good enemies, leaving him with nothing but fodder to clean up as he wandered the forests for the most powerful signatures, or big holes devoid of energy, while keeping away from any student on his radar.

To him it was ever worse than a walk in a park. At least in a park he wouldn't have to worry about stalkers watching his every move, people who were wanting to make him a partner, and the sun would be out and not hidden beyond a green canopy that hung high above him. He would be able to relax in a park and relive stress, maybe, not accumulate it like he was doing here.

"Can you things be any more pitiful." He asked with an offhanded tone as if talking to a creature of darkness was as normal as taking a sip of tea on a cool day. The Ursa who emerged from the bushes immediately fell on the instinct brought about by hyperarousal. To be perfectly honest, he didn't know whether or not to feel disappointed that it didn't run or that there was only one when it didn't run but her shrugged in the end, taking a deft step to the side and evading the lumbering mass of darkness.

The beast was nothing if not tenacious, rising back to its feet, shaking the leaves and blades of grass from its shadowy hide before it cracked the ground with its approach, hurtling towards Zangetsu at speeds surpassing its earlier charge. The Hollow smiled bitterly, clearly the opponent did not know what mistake it made in its reckless assault. To run at the Hollow as quickly as it did betrayed speed, but when speed and size come together to the degree that it did with the great Ursa, it also betrayed a lack of agility. It was far easier to change direction when one moved at a slower speed, and with the mass of Grimm grinding the ground it trod, it was obvious that even stopping was beyond its capabilities.

Stopping by its own power at least.

The monster charged with all its strength, ravaging the ground that it passed over, but against an even greater monster in human form, even ten of its kind would have been stopped just as easily. It did not realize this until it opened its maw, thick dribble flowing from a rough tongue and teeth made for piercing and cutting, and bit down on a single limb Zangetsu offered in defense. White met white as teeth met flesh, The crushing force of a monster's jaw coupled with the running start would not be denied, its grip powerful enough to cause their forms to speed through the forest as one, the Hollow's sandaled feet carving stripes into the earth as he gauged the power of the monster.

_Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought._

Zangetsu stared down the monster clenching on his arm with all it had, craning his neck over its form to see the twin trenches, shallow as they were, carved into the forest floor. The beast growled with all the wrath it could muster and forced its jaws together with enough strength to fell a tree if it were to fit within its stout muzzle, but against the skin of the Hollow, a thin layer impenetrable unless confronted with forces enough to force mountains to crumble, it was worth less than nothing. The Hollow shook his head in disappointment, the creature wasn't even enough to push him back more than a couple of feet.

A hand that belied the strength it could call upon fell on the muzzle of the creature and squeezed, the beast crying out in response as the top of its mask began cracking under the pressure of the Hollow's grip. Its jaws relaxed for a moment to release an anguished noise that welled up from its throat, but that would be it's final mistake. A moment's hesitation, a single pause, an instant of respite was given to the Hollow and the Grimm was dead.

His arm flew, sending spittle flying towards the trees that surrounded them while his free hand grasped the bottom jaw of the monster.

Then he pulled.

The beast had no time to roar in pain, though the sickening sound of skin tearing echoed loudly to anyone unfortunate enough to witness such a scene. The skin being ripped asunder and bone becoming undone was somewhat satisfying under the touch of his fingertips while the soundless agony the beast endured just before it met its violent end could be felt by any who had the horror of beholding the sight of such cold blooded bodily desecration.

His technique was perfect, almost impossibly so, as he held two halves of the wild beast, absorbing the power that allowed it to exist into himself before continuing to walk forward. He knew where north was, and the faster he made his way out that the annoying forest with enemies not even strong enough to waste time on, the faster he could fight the King unimpeded.

That meant without interruptions.

Absentmindedly, he waved his hand lazily, firing of a red bolt that destroyed the head of an offending Beowolf, the creature not even given a chance to stand on its hind legs and howl, calling for its kin, before it was slain in a single strike that did not even contain a sliver of the Hollow's effort. It had no opportunity to even whimper as it fell motionless on the rocky ground, the mask it wore as well as the tough hide it gained through the feasting of humans and the passage of time did nothing to absorb the blow cause by the red orb of pure energy. It was almost disappointing, if a halfhearted Bala was enough to take care of such small fry, then using a Cero would just be overkill.

They never liked it when he went overkill, it always ended in a fight, more often than not the three of them against him alone.

Not like he was complaining though.

The battle with Ichigo would always be something he would look forward to.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Jaune wasn't having the best of trips, and that was counting the fact that he was high on whatever medication given to him during the last one.

He had one question, one more measly innocent question top ask the professor before committing to a life of heroism he so dreamed, but his response? Without so much as a by your leave, he was hurled into the air, left at the mercy of the winds as he rose above the horizon and into the clear blue sky he often found himself watching whenever he caught himself daydreaming.

As a child he wondered what it was like to fly through the great blue beyond, but he quickly found that he was unsuited for such travel. He got sick whenever he hurtled through the sky in an iron shell, carried by engines and thrusters not his own and left at the whims of the heavens. He once dreamed that it would be different if he was outside, feeling the caress of the breeze when he soared independent from the jets and airships of the day, but deep inside, he knew it would probably end up worse than the feeling that overtook him as nausea filled his head.

He never hated being right so much before.

Flailing wildly in a desperate but vain attempt to control how he flew and where he would land, Jaune was not having fun at all, and the approaching treeline was not doing any favors for his heart. His mind was flying faster than he ever could as soon as gravity took over, and while time seemed to slow around him the faster he fell, he was at a complete loss as to what to do.

The way he flew was dizzying enough, the sky and the ground interchanging places as he constantly twisted and spun through the air like a doll thrown away by an angry child, even while he could catch glimpses of others soaring elegantly through the air. He had no time to envy them as he struggled to right himself, as he fell. He calming down far too slowly as he desperately felt for the wind and moved with it, allowing the streams of air that embraced him and released him just as quickly to guide his form as he fell into the forest below.

It felt like an eternity, but slowly he stabilized his flight, a feat he himself didn't know he could accomplish. But he was soon confronted about with another, far more troubling, problem. He could control where he fell now, give or take a few meters if the launch angle was right and the wind was weak, but he still had no idea how to land safely, or at least without killing him on impact. He couldn't exactly look back to check on the progress of the others either, not when they were so low to the ground and that turning back could very well leave him open to being slammed into a tree.

He could always land, tuck, and roll, but he was sure than it would take quite a number of rolls, on the possibly sharp ground where he would be practically blind, to stop. While that was a good thing as well as the only way he knew how to land from any high distance, he was sure that it would be his end here. He could slam into any and everything with his shield, but that would most definitely break his arm if he struck hard trunk instead of branches first, and that would be similar to slamming into the ground without ceremony, subsequently dying, a fate he would very much like to avoid after all the pains he took in getting into the academy.

Nope, dying was definitely not an option

He could always use his sword like a handhold and spin around the tree to allow the force to bleed out, but his sword was straight that it would either wrench his arm out of its sockets or end up as being utterly useless as his sword would barely stick long enough to slow him down to a safe speed. Really, as far as he saw it, all he could hope for was that wherever he landed, he wouldn't die immediately.

Just as the canopy was mere meters away, he miraculously positioned himself in such a way that his feet would strike the ground first.

Someone must have been looking out for him, since the very first branch he landed on, through some strange twist of fate, held firm, allowing him to fall into a crouch and roll about twice along the length of the branch before he leaped back into the air, headed for another good looking branch to land on before finally hitting the ground. He managed to redirect the force that affected him though to completely stop it after one landing was impossible, so he found another branch to settle on, breaking into a forward run before leaping once more.

He luck ran out after the third one through, something catching his leg and sending him hurtling down, face first towards the unforgiving ground.

Now what most didn't know about the Emerald Forest was that its trees were tall, and not just tall compared to humans, those things were downright gigantic. Some of the smaller ones rivaled some of the more average buildings in the city, while the tallest of them could easily surpass even the tallest of structures, only dwarfed by the intercontinental communication towers if ever.

Short version, if he fell from one of the taller ones, he would still die or end up injured.

What he didn't count on was a spear the pierce the green canopy from out of nowhere, catching him by the hood, again, and pinning him to a tree. It was a miracle the cloth did not tear as much as it should have, the only opening being occupied by the spearhead, otherwise he would have fallen, or at the very least had his clothes torn. The gleaming metal reminded him of a certain girl, the exact same one who caught him in a situation that would have ended up like this one had Ichigo not moved to stop her.

There was only one thing to do.

"THANK YOU!" He shouted towards the direction of the spear, very easy to calculate, you just had to find where the end was facing, emptying his lungs of the breath he was holding and forcing his voice through the expanse of the forest. Pyrrha would know where he was, she probably had a way to track the weapon besides, and if she could hear him, he might as well thank her as soon as possible.

Now all that was left was the waiting.

_Great, I can't even get out of here alone._

The spear must have been thrown quite hard, not only to cross the distances from wherever she was to him, but to have its blade embedded halfway through. From his position it was totally impossible to pull out the spear, and he was never the weakest one in the village, his parents as well as Ichigo saw to that. Still, no matter how much tugging, shimmying, and ratcheting he tried, the spear was firm, refusing to budge so much as a centimeter in any direction.

He looked down to see the beautiful heiress looking up at him with a mixture of bemusement and regret when he finally stopped. He chuckled awkwardly, sending her a little wave, though almost as quickly as she seemed to appear, she turned on her heel and vanished back into the woods, ignoring his cries for help.

"Wait! Come back! Who's going to get me down from here?!" He finally decided to hang there, resigned to wait for someone, anyone, willing to lend him aid. She even took Ruby, who he managed to glance before they vanished in the bushes, with her, literally leaving him with no other option that to take a breather... high up... pinned to a tree.

Yeah, not the best of days for Jaune Arc.

"Jaune?" He looked down, his gaze meeting that of the invincible girl who looked up at him with a coy expression, teasing in nature that bordered on seductive. "Do you, have some spots left on your team?" She asked with a genuinely innocent tone, the mischievous grin she wore coupled with the Cheshire glint in her eyes betraying her true meaning.

"Very funny." He huffed, looking away to hide an embarrassed blush slowly forming over his cheeks.

He wasn't angry. Other than the fact that he had no right to be and it was a valid joke, she saved him from probable death. While that was not as bad as certain death, he would take what he could get in terms of help, and he genuinely did feel grateful that, not only did she save him, but she even stayed to help him out rather than take the spear and pursuing Weiss, who he knew was the better choice between them if anyone asked.

He returned her smile, though there were still problems he needed to address. "Um... Pyrrha, can you, like, help me get down from here?" Besides embarrassment, he could feel a bit of heat coming from his cheeks as he hung from the tree and regarded the flame-haired beauty. "Ahm- you know what? Can we just get me out of here as fast as possible?" He repeated, a tinge of panic in his voice.

She quirked and elegant eyebrow. "What's the matter? Are you not enjoying the view from up there?" Her expression turned serious for a moment before another teasing smirk tugged on her lips. "Or maybe you're just afraid of heights and traumatized by the fall?"

"What? oh, n-no, the view is great here..." He explained hastily, mumbling under his breath trying to hide a blush within the shadow of his hood, "Which is... kind of the issue, actually."

She eyed with with confusion before shaking her head. "Alright then, just wait for a while and I'll be up there in no time." She took a few steps back in preparation, taking her shield from her back and taking a calculating glance at the surrounding trees. Jaune himself was quite high up, of course he was curious as to how she planned to reach him from so far below.

As if hearing a signal only she could detect, she broke into a run, her... heeled boots? Well, her choice of footwear aside, she rushed to the base of the tree, clearing the distance in moments before kicking off from the ground and digging her... heels... into the bark before taking another bound, throwing her shield at a tree before her feet left the bark. The shield, it probably possessed a sharper edge than it appeared, bit into the wood before her feet found the steel, the round buckler serving as another platform she bounded from before finally ending up face to face with a surprised Jaune, her feet braced against the bark while her hands firmly gripped the length of the spear.

If they were positioned horizontally, it would certainly appear as if she was straddling him.

"Ready?" Of course, he didn't have time to reply as the blade of the spear folded into itself, the mechanism accomplishing what the weight of two healthy teenagers could not and pulling the spear blade free from the grasp of ancient bark. Pyrrha herself, with her legs braced against the trunk of the massive tree, performed a couple of back-flips before landing in the classic style, on her feet with a single hand supporting the rest of her weight.

Jaune was much less graceful, falling on his rear end while the armor that protected his back managed to reduce most of the damage being dragged down a tree would have dealt. The fall wasn't the worst he ever felt, so he could easily scratch his head and smile through the pain before getting up. "I guess that would mean we're partners, so I guess it's only polite that I introduce myself. The-"

"Name's Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the tongue, ladies love it?" She smiled innocently, a curious twinkle shining from his eyes as she tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle.

He was taken aback for a moment, content to stand there and gawk at the girl who somehow knew exactly what he was going to say. He wasn't as famous as he claimed, so it stood to reason that she did not know of him prior to their earlier meeting that morning. There was just one other possibility, and as far off that was, it was the only one that would make sense, everything considered. "I should really stop trying pick up lines with Ichigo around, shouldn't I?"

"I would think that's for the best." Pyrrha nodded, obviously experienced in dealing with the orange-haired teen when he went all gruff and deadpan. "I'm sure Weiss has introduced me enough?"

"There's that, but I've always wondered who was the girl who Ichigo kept talking about." Jaune offered, scratching his head as if trying to recall something Ichigo said a long time ago. "Something about a girl who always seemed to pick a fight..."

"That was one time!" She complained quite loudly, uncaring if any creature, or heaven forbid, person, hear her grumble like a school girl. "I pick a fight with a guy that one time and he never lets it go. He won it didn't he?"

"Well I've never seen him lose if that's what your're asking." Jaune agreed with a ready nod. Truthfully, no matter how much training he received from his father, and peers, he could never reach the point where he made Ichigo sweat. The taller orange-haired boy just seemed to run circles around him, and when Jaune did manage to land a strike, it would be parried and countered so quickly that he would be thrown a few feet back or he wouldn't wake up for the next few minutes.

He thought it couldn't get any worse, but when Ichigo did fight seriously, and that in itself took a whole lot of begging and reassurance that he was ready of Jaune's part, he couldn't remember anything past the first three seconds of it. Ichigo just disappeared and then bam... Jaune blacked out. When he realized that Pyrrha was the same one featured on the cover of one of his favorite cereal boxes, he was extremely impressed but even then, he knew that for all her skill, she wouldn't be able to fight off the irate teen if he went all out.

When the eldest living Arc was impressed with the hidden skill and potential of a young boy, you had to believe that there was more than meets the eye about him.

Speaking of which, there was one thing weighing heavily on his mind. "I don't want to be rude and all, but why are you here?" He needed to be honest here. Don't get him wrong, without her, he had no chance in hell to have made that jump and landing unscathed, and would probably be at the mercy of Grimm had they found him, tracking his down with despair leaking everywhere and all. It was just that, the occurrence just made no sense at this point.

Let's take a look at the facts. He was standing beside Pyrrha Nikos, and having her for a partner was one of the best things he could ever hope for... _he _could hope for. He wasn't going to butter himself up, he was trying his hardest, but the absolute best he could do was weigh the Invincible Girl down. What begged the question even more was the fact that _she went to him_ of all things. It was obvious -hello there spear how's the weather?- that she could have easily went, pinned down if necessary, any other teammate she wanted to secure, but of all people, she went for Jaune.

There were others definitely more... equipped to help the girl out too. Weiss definitely thought partnering up with the Goddess of Victory was the best move she could manage. She had some history with Ichigo, and by extension, probably Brennan, Zangetsu and the Narius fellow he just met. Heck, she would have probably had a better chance with Ruby, the fact that she attended the school two years too early doing nothing to hinder her skills, aside from the socializing of course.

He just couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why she decided to help him.

"Suspicious one, aren't we?" She intoned slyly, shaking her head as if to dispel his doubt. "You just looked like you needed help, that's all." She replied gracefully, a nostalgic smile on her face. "Trust me, the first time being thrown off a cliff is always the worst. I will never let anyone get stuck in a tree for hours if I can help it." She smiled at him, an he felt his heart melt just a little when he realized the only other place he'd seen that smile. "If an enemy of my enemy is my friend, what's a friend of my friend?"

"Alright, I get it, partner." He chuckled, turning away to hide a strange blush threatening to spread all throughout his face.

"Wait a second." The reverie only lasted a moment though, when the boy realized something important.

His compass was no longer in his pocket.

"Where exactly is north again?"

The flame-haired girl's smile couldn't be any more radiant, or forgiving.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_A few minutes before..._

Weiss Schnee wasn't having the best of days, landing in front of a whole pack of Beowolves was just the icing on the cake.

She was just thankful that they gave her some form of release, no one would complain if she lost her composure devastating a pack of Grimm or at least no one would blame her if she did.

Her Aura flared once, another one of her glyphs appearing out of thin air to catch her feet before she touched the ground, but instead of flinging her into the air once more to avoid the gathering of monsters below her, the glyph shifted losing all light as her boots touched the surface of the construct before firing the girl it held like a bullet from a cannon. Myrtlenaster, her trusted companion forged from the finest materials was trembling with power as the Dust it held, the wrath of mother nature herself, ran through the minuscule channels that assumed the appearance of intricate symbols etched into the surface of the blade.

She struck the first of the monsters from out of nowhere, burying the tip of the rapier into the heart of the unsuspecting victim and even before it had the opportunity to roar in pain, she activated her weapon. Within the darkness that composed the entirety of the soulless being of power, the silver edge of the weapon gleamed a faint green and the next moment, a full blown typhoon was unleashed from the blade.

The wind, the very breath the monster still held inside its body screamed with rage as it tore at the monster from the inside, rushing of the beast explosively in a burst of black gore and white bone. The strength of the burst of air was hindered somewhat by the body of the beast, even so it erupted from its kill with such intensity that the rest of the pack, at least half a dozen more monsters, were blown back, enough to give the heiress some breathing room to think.

It was unnecessary, she was blind with anger and would not think of anything as trivial as appearance or her form. It was kill or be killed from here on out.

Not a moment was wasted, the heiress twirling on her toes just as the wind erupted and ruptured the body of the monster just in time to catch the wind and fly to her next victim, an unsuspecting Beowolf reeling from the initial explosion of air. It's roar of rage was taken away by the howling winds as her arm flew into a blur as the monster entered striking range, her blade rushing through the air and reflecting sunlight as a single flash as she struck the monster at five different points nigh simultaneously.

The monster was leaning forward in a vain attempt to keep the wind from carrying it too far, but against a precision striker like Weiss, that was exactly what not to do, and it paid for it dearly. Both shoulders were pierced in a single moment, the chest, the head and the groin in the next without any resistance. She did not even allow to whimper before she took its life, the attack to the heart and head of the beast much to fast to even follow as the heiress summoned another glyph below her and retreated, intending to move on to her next target.

Her blade glowed blue this time, the light streaking as she glided over rough forest terrain and leaving traces, snowflakes if one looked hard enough, floating in her wake. They turned gracefully before taking another one of the monsters on, this time the one had an attack prepared for her as she closed the distance.

Even with the blue light flowing through the length of the snowflakes, she danced like she was alone, her arms flowing through the air as she cleaved through the flesh of the monster, thrusting and slashing as if she was caught in a choreographed routine she silently led, allowing the monster no opportunity to strike. When it did bring a heavy limb to bear, an easy thrust would toss the useless paw away, as the rapier bit through the creature in a storm of slashes, reducing the once frightening monster into a barely held marionette of dark sinew and visible bone.

She ended it with a separate glyph, the same one that flung her towards the first monster absorbing the weakened Beowolf into it's dark confines before turning and flinging it towards the last three Beowolves with enough force to tear its limbs from its body and fling the dying monster in a shower of innards and body parts. As disgusting as the display was, none of the combatants showed any hesitation, bulldozing through the drizzle of gore like the demons they were, though Weiss did not see to worry in the slightest.

She chided herself for using a tactic only effective against creatures with feelings to unnerve the Grimm, but at that point it didn't matter. The snowflakes that by now filled the small clearing were called to life when Weiss gestured at the remaining three, and with the power of the blizzard, they flew at the creatures that bellowed in the face of such a young girl deifying them. The snowflakes flew with the speed of hail and crashed against the toughened hide of the Grimm with all the strength of a glacier, immediately encasing a tenth of a monster within ice with each strike; one snowflake can fully envelop a single limb of the beast, dozens flew and pelted the three in a monsoon of nature's wrath guided by the soul of a child.

Statues of ice were erected in the clearing as the heiress let the frigid air enter her lungs, enjoying her handiwork with a critical eye before she swung her sword for one last time, the blade encased in a veritable inferno of vermilion energy before the misty cloud of visible force flew towards the three, shattering their forms and leaving only bits of frozen flesh to dissipate as Grimm did whenever they met their ends.

The fight lasted no longer than fifteen seconds.

She sighed, regarding the cloud of mist that was her breath with a tired smile before walking towards where she knew north was.

_That wasn't too bad for a warm up, maybe my partner won't be that bad._

Lost in thought, she wandered the forest, ignored by most of the Grimm in the area. They were beings of instinct, and even they knew that they couldn't beat her with the numbers they had. She took the respite in stride, there was no telling just how long it would last after all, so it would be better to enjoy it while it was there. She allowed her mind to wander for the moment, as the thought of working with others entered her mind.

Admittedly, her first choice was still Pyrrha.

One could never go wrong with standing beside the strongest girl, and easily the second strongest fighter, in their entire year. They were of like background... to an extent so personality wise there was no problem. Scratch that, no matter what Weiss did, as long as she could wiggle in even the slightest amount of justification, Pyrrha would be alright with it; if she hasn't told the girl enough, the Goddess of Victory was just too nice.

Fighting style was compatible as well, given that the Invincible girl fought in tough but elegantly executed melee while Weiss herself was learning bits and pieces of enhancement as well as heavy and precise ranged support. Pyrrha was also skilled in working with others, easily adapting to any person she happened to work with at the time, so synergy was more that guaranteed even if Weiss didn't explicitly change for the benefit of her partner.

They would be equivalent to a team in and of itself if the two were to team up. The learning would come, as it always would, but there would be no question of who would be leading the pack in all aspects.

A good second runner up was Kurosaki Ichigo.

For some reason all information she could obtain on the boy was that he came from an obscure village and that his last name came before his given name. All other important pieces of information were gained by first hand experience, case in point, his fighting skills.

He could take down a hunter in training ten years before his time, with apparent ease if she remembered correctly, it was impossible that he didn't improve in the past decade they had been apart. Well sure, it wasn't exactly a decade, but he could break metal with a casual kick and fling a man across a hall with nothing more that a flick of the wrist, as a _child. _As a teenager, the orange-haired teen was not someone she had confidence in pitting herself, or Pyrrha for that matter, against, whatever experience she thought they had over him be damned.

He went on a rescue mission she found out was entrusted to, in her fathers own words after she found her way home, _hunters of the highest caliber, _before he lived a decade. He trumped them in battle and in experience, no question.

His personality was somewhat of an enigma to her, though in the short time that they did speak, it looked like that he cared somewhat, not even as a bounty hunter looking at a prize, but as a person looking out for another. Sure, he didn't look like the nicest person out there and was definitely not above poking fun at her when the situation called for it, but if push came to shove, she had a feeling that he would be the first one to volunteer to bite the bullet if it was coming at any of the freshmen.

As for a third choice, she would admit that she didn't exactly have one.

She was confident that she would be able to find one of the two in the forest, especially since she at least knew where they would be. With that on her mind, she wandered through the forest towards where she thought the flame-haired girl would be, intent on making use of the eye contact rule to catch the strongest girl and bring her into the fold. Like most with eyes and ears, she caught the fact that Pyrrha seemed to be intent on helping Jaune, but there could always be the happy accident of meeting her before she reached the clueless blonde.

What she forgot to factor in was the infinitesimal chance that somehow, I don't know, maybe a certain red-hooded girl would appear careening from out of nowhere and crash into her or something.

Of course, that's exactly what happened.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to feel about her partner.

Weiss Schnee, as far as Ruby saw her, was one tough cookie if not a bit paranoid when it came to avoidable dangers. She also seemed to value Dust, though that was to be expected from the heiress to one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world. In her expert opinion though, even if the girl was one strong fighter... she wasn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen.

Exhibit A: The Dust Incident; no one carries Dust in glass containers when one could afford the safer, pressurized variant.

Exhibit B: Crashing; Ruby met Weiss, or ran into her rather, when the white-clad girl was wandering like a lost puppy, without the slightest care in the world.

Exhibit C: Dependency; Weiss somehow thought it was a good idea to stay put, calling Ruby's name long enough to attract a pack of Beowolves.

Really, those where novice mistakes, not even she was stupid enough to cause them... at least not after what uncle Qrow threatened her with.

A lady needed her cookies and milk, thank you very much.

Anyway, about Weiss, it wasn't exactly hard to see the other things wrong with her. She was a great fighter, she started a forest fire while fighting a pack of Beowolves while still having enough strength to _put it out_, the problem was that she wasn't the best team player so to speak. Even Ruby would admit it if she made a mistake, which she hadn't -running into Weiss and sneezing up an explosion were accidents, she would swear on it- but the heiress thought she was perfect.

The pretty white princess had the, the nerve to even suggest that her fighting style, one handed down to her from one of the best known scythe wielders ever, was less than awesome and call her childish... for the fifth time. It was her fault, darn it! Weiss was the one who was standing there when all she was doing was looking for Yang, or Blake, or Jaune, or maybe Narius... She would have avoided the accident easily if she had just been looking.

Yeah, it wasn't her fault she was all starry-eyed and distracted. It was her talking and needing someone to hold her hand -_take that Yang, someone's even more hopeless than I am_\- that got them into the pack's territory which led to the skirmish. It was her fire that set the forest ablaze, and if it didn't it would most definitely be her fault if that attack hit something more important, like her baby Crescent Rose, or worse, the awesome red cloak of coolness.

Granted Weiss did stop the forest fire after pulling her aside, using a massive ice spell to take away the heat and kill the monsters after they argued...

To be perfectly fair to the girl, she was good, and getting Ruby to admit that someone, who wasn't blood related or a confirmed Hunter, was good was something of an achievement in and of itself. Despite her carelessness, Weiss was still a veritable force of nature on the battlefield, capable of singlehandedly bringing down swathes of Grimm with a swing of her sword and a bit of Dust sprinkled in for good measure. She started a forest fire for goodness' sake, and then, in the middle of blowing up and raging, she _froze_ the entire battlefield in a single move.

It was her fault in the first place, but even Ruby had to admit that watching a blazing inferno instantaneously change into a winter wonderland was awesome.

Then they continued the argument.

It would have been fine if it ended that way, but then she had to bring up the stupid idea that it was _her fault!_ Weiss' reasoning seemed to be Forest Fire=Ruby's fault, Ending Grimm in one shot=Weiss' skill, and that was just plain stupid!

Yeah, she did kill them all, but she at least had to take blame for bringing them there in the first place. it was just so infuriating that she just wanted to...

A thunderous noise echoed from the depths of the forest, its volume so staggering that even the earth shook with its might. It would have scattered animals in the area, had they not been cleared by the Grimm, and may have even startled the princess... had it not been the second time such a rumble boomed from behind her. Ruby herself sighed, folding her 'baby' and slinging it on her back before continuing after the heiress who was intent on leading the way.

_There goes another tree._

The only way that this would be worse if if she... oh no.

Ruby cold not, she wouldn't even try to hide the bewilderment in her expression when Weiss began to look around, glancing at the area to her left, then to her right, before taking a hesitant step forward and repeating the process every so often. Ruby knew that look, the way her body trembled with uncertain hesitation, the frantic glimmer in her eyes as she scanned the area for something that would not be found, the heaviness in her steps. She sighed dejectedly, almost pitifully, as she realized something she definitely should have known a few moments ago when they started trudging through the forest after taking care of that pack of Grimm.

They were lost, weren't they?

Now, even as she continued to walk a few steps behind the girl, out of range so she wouldn't be tempted to lash out at the abrasive heiress while her back was turned, Ruby was fuming. No, the problem was not in the fact that they were lost, Ruby herself had been searching for a way to the temple, as well as a way to her sister, before they met and she would proudly admit that she had no idea where she was going. The problem lay in the obvious deception Weiss had insisted on upholding: acting like she was still in complete control when in reality, she had lost all sense of power over their situation even before they met up.

That was her breaking point.

Instinctively, Ruby knew she was done for. She couldn't run to her sister for this one anymore, Yang probably had a better partner at this point anyway. She couldn't just end this little threat with the good old overdose of violence, sometimes life's duct tape found something even it couldn't fix. She couldn't even leave the heiress there to wander alone while she went and kicked some major monster butt and taking names, no the teachers wouldn't like that at all when 'teamwork' and 'unity through diversity' were two of the school's main thrusts.

All she could do was take a seat on the soft, inviting grass, play around with whatever was around her to pass the time, and pray for something awesome to happen while Weiss paced back and forth like a panicking schoolgirl... which she was.

_At least this couldn't possible get any worse..._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ozpin was terrified.

The man on the cliff standing nonchalantly, looking into the distance with a distracted eye, holding a cup half filled with caffeinated nectar of the gods, was perfectly still as the clouds overhead rolled by with their transient ever-shifting forms. The wind was soft, like a gentle caress on his skin or a loving whisper into his ear, but in it he found no solace or comfort as he knew, he _felt_ something emanating from the forest that would eventually grow into a threat far more treacherous than the Grimm could ever be. He did not shift, he did not fidget, he did not grimace, but under the thin veneer of control was a storm of uncertainty, amassed chaos threatening the claw its way out of him if he even relaxed his grip for a moment.

So he held on will all of his might and hoped for the best.

If any of the staff knew that their stoic, infallible, scary-prepared rock was uncomfortable then mass hysteria would spread in a matter of _moments_. If any sane man realized that the Headmaster of arguably the greatest institution to train Huntsmen and Huntresses was distressed there was no telling what would happen. He was where he was for a reason, and to those who remembered who guided them though some of the toughest times, who contributed most to the maintenance of the way of life they enjoyed, who made mistakes no man should ever have to endure, him being unsure of anything was never a good sign.

But then again, that was one of the reasons why he hid his emotions all too well.

It wouldn't do for the headmaster to be panicking during the very first day of school either.

The last time something that dangerous happened was when an extinction level event just waiting to happen strode into his office with not a care in the world some time ago, enjoying the decor and waltzing around the room like it was nobody's business. Apparently, no one decided to tell the individual that entering the headmaster's office, in the dead of night, with all the security measures armed and ready, was utterly, physically impossible for any individual.

The conversation that followed was quite... strange.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"I suggest that if you want to try anything, you should do so now or else listen to what I have to say." A robed figure, clad in a black cloak that hid any and all features Ozpin could use to identify the perpetrator, spoke with unmatched elegance, with all the weight of a king and yet all the familiarity of a dear friend. His voice rung with the chime of authority, even so it was quite foreboding, like an assassin emerging from the shadows, whispering the last words a victim would ever hear. "I love what you've done with the place, by the way. Nice and high up, great view, lots of light, and a great theme you've got going on. Clockwork, everything moving exactly, precisely as planned. Ultimate control."

Also, to add to the frightening atmosphere the enveloped the office as soon as the figure made its appearance, it seemed to be much too sharp for its own good.

There was always the option of fighting. He was one of the most accomplished of huntsmen that governed the world they lived in. One never rose to prominence without having a great measure of strength, especially when authority and the ability to lead involved regular skirmishes with men and monsters that boggled the imagination. It was often spoken in jest that he could slay a fully grown Goliath, one hundreds of years old, with nothing but his coffee mug, and while he could not exactly kill it with just his beloved cup, there were many others he could incapacitate without it. He could use a cane he legitimately needed to hunt Grimm after all, what good would a normal human, or a trained hunter, be against him?

But not a trained huntsman, an enigma, stood across him, standing, peering down from the shadow of his hood while Ozpin regarded him with the sheer minimum amount of acknowledgement.

The silence was deafening, though he was sure only he knew of its pressure, as the enigma emitted nothing but sure confidence in his shadowed stance and practiced speech. The headmaster himself had no choice but to nod, almost imperceptibly before he spoke in the voice he used only to address those higher than him in station. "Please, continue then."

He could not see, but he could feel the figure grin under its hood, the voice following surprisingly jovial. "Frightened, are we? I was assuming you of all people would put up more of a resistance against this sort of thing."

This time it was the headmaster's turn to smile warmly, his hands gesturing at the space around him as his voice rung proudly in the dead of night. "This place is a haven, one of the most protected areas in Vale, maybe in Remnant, that people are aware of. If you broke in here without trouble, then the least I could do is hear you out before I decide if I should end you right here."

"Ah... the ignorance of youth." Ozpin's eyebrow twitched at the snide comment, he was hardly at the age one would call young after all. "You imply that if you wanted to, you could end me. I'm afraid your arrogance will be your downfall, child." The Hunter could feel the figure leering at him behind the shadow of the hood, silently challenging him to refute the statement if he dared. "You see yourself as special, set apart when really you are just as expendable, just as vulnerable as everyone else. You think this a game, Ozpin, and yourself a player, when we are all pieces, no matter how important."

"Please, say what you will and be done with it." Ozpin drawled out almost annoyed as his fingers began drumming on his desk impatiently. The night was not as young as it should have been, and he still had a full day ahead of him assuming he survived the encounter. The being would have killed him immediately if it was dreadfully important to do so, and one never took the time to deliver a message when the receiver was to die.

He assumed he could afford to be a bit sardonic given the situation.

"Have it your way then." The figure did not disappoint, freeing a breath before uttering a single word.

_"Check"_

At once, everything around him changed before his very eyes. He was no longer in his office, in the very seat of his power where he ruled over the institution that trained some of the best mankind had to offer to combat the darkness that surrounded them so absolutely. The dark of the night gave him no comfort, the stars and moon had fled his sight, even the coolness of the metal brought about by his chair and the soft ticking of the gears above him were no longer there. He was plucked from his fortress in a heartbeat and thrown in to a place filled with nothing but disaster.

Blood and Fire.

Everywhere he looked, from horizon to horizon heaven upwards until the deep abyss below in every direction, all was thick ichor that flowed from an ocean of the dead and vermilion carpets that danced over the desolation, lapping up what it could as if the crimson lifeblood was its sustenance. He feared the worst, that he had been killed in a split second and now he stood in the middle of Hell itself.

The figure was before him, unharmed and untouched the destruction around him, definitely at home in the pool of blood that dirtied his boots as the flames lapped up his clothing though left to trace. The fiery wisps seemed almost subservient to the figure, while the blood rippled gently when he strode forward, now unimpeded by the desk that once stood between them.

Even the heavens themselves were set ablaze by what mysterious power the being held, clouds replaced by massive pillars of flame that rose up, threatening to erase every color and leave nothing but red to fill the sky. Black thunder heads rebelled against the flames, through they blanketed the vast expanses that were not burning in the skies, they fueled the conflagration below, showing droplets of precious red on the ground, the momentary respite in a baptism of blood always followed by an immediate resurrection of burning wrath.

The wind was there, embers dancing around them as the figure stood before the headmaster with nothing but truth about him. It was not calm superiority, nor was it anything like confidence, or even nonchalance. The feeling it gave off was something akin to commonsense, when one says 'one plus one is two' a fact of truth that simply was, and could never be argued against.

And that was it; more that what he saw, more that when he could touch, more that what he could hear or smell or taste, he could feel within his soul the sheer power of the being before it. It wasn't Aura, or Semblance, no those were just fractions of whatever potential mankind still hid within themselves, this being was forcing its very soul against Ozpin and the headmaster could feel the titanic weight behind such power. Had he not been seated, he was surprised he was still resting against something that wasn't on fire, he was sure he would b on his knees, struggling to breathe in the face of Power.

The fact that the figure held his life in its hands was an axiom, a statement that required no other proof to be considered true.

Check indeed.

"Understand?" As quickly as it came, the vision ended, not even ashes remaining as they returned to the throne of power once more. "It's your move now, child. I suggest you make use of it. This little game of ours will last as long as it takes, so you don't need to worry about us, or anything else for that matter, before you decide to act. We'll still be watching though, so the best of luck to you."

And with that, the figure left, leaving one of the greatest men in Remnant, for the first time in decades, unable to think.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

The feeling he felt from that night, when he entered the abyss and stared at what it was to be sentenced to the worst place humanity could ever conceive, he felt coming from the depths of the Emerald Forest. No matter how he looked at it, whatever came for him then was now dwelling among the students he kept watch over, threatening them with its foul presence alone.

They, whoever the figure represented, were moving now, he was sure that the attack on whatever they kept secret in Atlas was just the opening to whatever they were truly planing.

They said that they would wait, and he had not been idle through all those years. He had prepared every contingency, for ever eventuality, but no plan ever survived first contact no matter how well thought out. He was an expert at improvisation, it was the bread and butter of every veteran Hunter, but against a foe like this, one that broke through every security measure he had to show him Hell itself, he could never be so sure.

He had years, and so did they. It would not be too much of a stretch to assume that they too had a plan and worked around him and whatever they knew he could come up with.

He could only pray he made the right move.

Children they were, but they would have to hold fast if the world was to remain whole.

With that in mind, he continued to watch those under his care, hoping that all he had done would be enough to slowly forge them into the warriors they were meant to be.

* * *

**AN**

**I'm back... and kind of disappointed at myself for bringing this so late. **

**No excuses this time, I'm sure no one is interested in hearing about my life.**

**To those still here, and those who came in even if it looked like this died, you have my thanks. **

**Again, this is merely a cut version of what I had planned, because yeah, the next scene is a doozy.**

**Blud: Thanks, really means a lot, WEISS WAS NOT RAPED just to get that out there. Sexual harassment to that degree is something Ichigo would never put up with. It's called the original 'fate worse than death' for a reason. You'll get the references, they are not as hard as they should be but yeah, just hang in there. Pairings, and lemons, let me work on normal writing first, but no promises.**

**EPIC and APV Yes they remember, but they will meet later in the next chapter (later in the chapter, but that would be one long mess no one will read) I don't think I deserve a TV Tropes page (Yet :D ) But I will work on the story until it meets the extremely high awesomeness requirement. Thanks.**

**Still some plot here, and a bit of canon editing to make the heiress seem much smarter than it actually was. Yeah, let's face it, when she said she was the smartest girl in class, it was a joke, really, no seriously, Weiss is one of the most stupid characters only beaten by Jaune in terms of pure dumbness and stuff. She took two whole seconds to realize she was looking at Ruby, (normal sword swing, combat moves, Grimm attack, at least in my timing is about 0.4 at slowest) That in itself should have killed her, so I edited it out (offscreen) and made it so our little red crashed into her, there much more believable.**

**I also made it so that she also _puts out_ the fire like a responsible person, rather than leave the forest burning for who knows how long. She's still angry at Ruby after though. **

**Jaune and Pyrrha, If I didn't say it enough, I said it enough, the girl is just too nice. Will it stay that way, I don't know, find out!**

**Ozpin, yeah, he encountered something from the bleachverse that does not care about too many things and will do anything to force out the results he/she wants. It could be Tensa, or another character I plan to insert later on, all you need to know now is that the main antagonist for this arc, and maybe until I say so, has been introduced, (finally)**

**School started for me, yes I promised not to b***h about life, but still this needs to be known since I can't promise weekly anymore. Updates will be irregular from here till stated otherwise and if you drop this then I will, and can't really, hold anything against you. To those who will stay though, really you guys are awesome for sticking with it, I can only give you my sentiments.**

**Yeah, very not happy AN, sorry again.**

**I'll go before everyone starts getting depressed.**

**This has been Proccit, **

**I promise to return as soon as possible**

**SEE YA! =))**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Problems, Solutions, and everything in between**

* * *

"The last pair has been formed, sir: Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy... I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than Miss Nikos." A strangely warm voice chimed with the wind as a pair of figures stood over the Emerald Forest. The teachers each had a scroll in hand, and while the headmaster looked into the distance dreamily, Glynda Goodwitch had all her attention on the strange but convenient device.

Glynda could only sigh as Ren met Nora in the forest, quite disappointment at a student as silent and stoic as Lie Ren had to spend a total of four years together with the energetic and rambunctious Nora Valkyrie. Sure the records showed that they were childhood friends at some point in time, and their combination, according to the records they received, was something to be feared and respected when pitted against human and Grimm alike, the teacher still held a sliver of doubt in her heart. Her pity, that stemmed from the doubt, went out to the boy, silently wishing him luck as she shifted her scroll.

Of course, the source of her doubt was the less than trustworthy set of records they obtained of Jaune Arc. At first glance, they were perfectly fine, quite ordinary when stacked against the truly exceptional freshmen Beacon had received during its course, though it was admittedly quite on the side of higher quality. Not every student was qualified to take on several dozen Grimm, with only a couple of inexperienced children beside him. Even less were able to claim that the amount of Aura they could wield was even greater than the energy equivalent to power one of the Cross Continental Transmit Towers. Truly unique to his case though, was the claim that the boy was able to, in quite erratic intervals, serve as a sort of circuit, directing the energy around him at scales unheard off.

Though combat wise that wasn't exactly the most impressive thing they had ever heard off, the experience of a person who's weapon was the bane of an entire wing of the academy every time it was fired _normally_ was extremely difficult to beat, that particular ability could serve as one of the most important advances in terms of Aura use thanks to one shocking revelation: the boy had no semblance.

The praises his records sang for Jaune were reverberating in her head when she first read the collection of files, and at once she thought that this could be their representative for the combat tournament during the Vytal Festival. During the course of four years, his strange abilities would, like all exceptional students like him, shape the very history of not only the Academy itself, but the very world.

Then they met the boy.

Not personally, mind you, through the cameras, but even so that in itself was enough to change everything she thought about Jaune Arc.

He was clumsy, enough that one would call it something of a disability, a full blown combat hazard to himself and his opponent, and still be in the realm of reason. He was extremely fragile, at least in terms of temperament, when faced with people he thought were greater than him, or balance wise as his motion sickness was testament to. He was immature, childish even during the trip to the campus proper, exhibiting behavior inappropriate for someone of his standing as a student of Beacon, and his age as someone supposedly in his teens.

Most strangely, he was clueless, and there was no amount of explaining that actually conveyed just how infuriatingly, laughably, oblivious he was.

Having seen the boy at his most natural state, at least as far as they knew, there was obviously some doubt to the credibility of his records. There was no shortage of people willing to tamper with legal documents to achieve their goals, whether it be stealing millions, changing their very identity, or accessing resources and information that threatened the kingdom as a whole. As part of the third option, Beacon has not been exempt from attempts to gain entry through fraudulent means, and was at that point, adept at spotting forgeries and shooting down the students in possession of these articles.

A bit of digging was all that was needed to confirm what they already suspected.

They did not expect to find that all of the records submitted to them regarding the male Arc were true. In the end, it was only fitting that one of the most prominent Hunter families in Vale, much more when they were recognized by the whole world and not to be trifled with, would never resort to such unscrupulous means to gain entry in an Academy they helped build and maintain.

What's more, the strange incidents found in his records, the very root of doubt that plagued Glydna had proof that, beyond any reasonable doubt Jaune Arc was one who slew four dozen Beowolves in an explosion of Aura, was one who possessed reserves that rivaled his father, grandfather, and great grandfather combined, and one who could manipulate that energy in ways once thought impossible.

All she could do was accept, if but begrudgingly, that the boy was worthy to walk the halls legends have trod. It did not stop her from voicing her own opinion though. "I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat." Glynda Goodwitch, one of the most respected teachers in the academy, unmatched when it comes to utilizing her semblance and exceeded by only one in terms of pure power, spoke freely, her tone while carrying disbelief and cold steel betrayed that she only cared for the boy's well being.

Of course, Ozpin being- the man he was noncommittally hummed in reply, exactly like he did when she started giving voice to her grievances.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." She spoke once more, resignation coating her tone as she closed her scroll and turned towards the academy. They were quite serious when they said that, no matter what happened, the instructors and professors would not interview, but of course that only applied to non-life-threatening situations. There were those in charge of attending to the students if, heaven forbid, that they bit off more than they could chew, and the headmaster and herself were not part of that committee.

"At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes." She stopped there, a memory flashing through he mind before turning to look at the back of the headmaster suspiciously. The temple she referred to was not exactly a temple at all, simply the remains of an altar where the artifacts were placed for the students to snatch before they headed back towards the cliff.

The original temple was already in ruins, and to expect the students to go through that labyrinth and expect them all to exit with nary an injury was just hoping for too much. When a professor who worked as an archaeologist to get lost in those depths, it was as clear as any sign not to enter the pit that lead to nothing but death and darkness. Of course that was nothing to their resident idiot.

Some explanation is in order.

Little known fact about the Beacon Academy Initiation Ceremony, students are not the only ones undertaking a trial by fire, some of the newer teachers were also being tested, considered, and weighed according to their performance. While the students are tasked to complete a certain objective, from a treasure hunt, to battling and subsequently defeating a certain number of Grimm, it was the newest of the teachers and professors who held the responsibility of creating the mission for the children.

It showed the teaching ability of the individual in question. The ability to correctly asses the power of the batch as a whole, their aptitude for making challenges designed to not only fit the ability of the student but also ensure their growth after accomplishing or even failing the test, and the efficiency of planning the event itself were all looked at and evaluated. It had become tradition to let the newest teacher take care of the initiation in its entirety, adding variety to the actual ceremony as well as giving them something to do before the year starts.

Overall, nothing too over the top really happened, the worst one being a tournament where the students fought among themselves before a final winner was presented something like desert for a month. The only reason why that ended badly was because of the stares he received every time he ate whatever confectionery the school provided, and by the end of the month he had suffered from both physical as well as social trauma.

This new indecent blew the old one right out of the water.

What Kaiser Bostov, one of the new assistant instructors for General Close Quarters Combat as well as Advanced Aura Mastery had planned was nothing short of a massacre. The students were to supposed to be flung into the forest, instead they would descend their own way, right into a battlefield filled with so much Grimm that it was amazing the authorities had not encountered any stragglers. The battle would be fierce from the get go, with beasts numbering in the tens dozens, and they would have to search for the entrance to the ruined temple, and jump head first into a labyrinth where death was all but possible. To take even one artifact would prove to be nigh impossible, to escape the clutches of a hundred more Grimm, each more ancient than any hunting them, was simply ludicrous.

They were only fortunate that Ozpin had a backup plan just in case something like this was to happen, as well as the fact that Kaiser was able to exterminate his forest of death in time for the Initiation.

There was only one last question that formed at the forefront of her mind. "What did you use as relics this year?" The question itself had no articular value, just a bit of small talk and a chance to quell a general curiosity she had, but his lack of reply, even to something as simple as that, spoke volumes in and of itself. If she wasn't sure then, she was definitely certain now; something was definitely amiss.

Her scroll snapped back open, returning to life with a glow as the white screen slowly faded to give way to a set of videos playing simultaneously, each one being recorded and stored in the Academy's main data banks. This was the way they were monitoring the students, through several cameras hidden in every nook and carny of the Emerald Forest though as far as she was concerned, there was no possible way for cameras to be giving them the plethora of perspectives they were able to choose from. Nevertheless, she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and simply used what she had to try and decipher the situation; a silent Ozpin only meant trouble, either for the students, or for the teachers, or both.

Unbeknownst to the bespectacled professor, she had skipped over the video feed the headmaster was originally viewing, grouping the window that displayed a distraught Weiss Schnee pacing while a dejected Ruby Rose played with the vegetation while cross legged as unimportant and hastily skimmed through the others. Her eyes rested on a window, one that displayed a strange scene devoid of people before her fingers deftly selected the icon and rewound the video a few seconds back.

She almost dropped her own scroll as she watched what occurred, needing to replay the scene over and over again just to make sure her eyes, or even the camera, were not fooling her.

The slight tremble of -her voice as well as the worry that coated it was enough to make Ozpin react with a sense of urgency. "Sir, we may just have a situation."

Enclosed by the borders of her scroll, one clip just seconds long was playing and replaying again and again, and over and over it displayed the same thing.

Kurosaki Ichigo, Shiro Zangetsu, Brennan Delacroix, and Narius White were all walking towards the ruins before abruptly disappearing with nary a trace.

No one could have predicted the chaos that unfolded soon after...

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**o0OOO0o**

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Since coming into the new world, this had been the second time Ichigo was dragged to his inner world.

Of course, now that his spirits were either scattered all over who knows where or already made manifest and dwelling outside, masquerading as normal humans, there should have been no one to drag him back to his inner world. The first time was when he woke up and first met Narius, when the latter was still traveling with him in search of his other spirits. All else were times when _he_ finally asserted his control of his soul and it was him doing the pulling, more often than not to pull Zangetsu in when he reached his limit.

So imagine his surprise when he felt the familiar sensation of being dragged into the depths of his soul without his consent. Now imagine how much that surprise grew when he finally got there.

_What?_ He didn't bother banishing the feeling of being wet as he searched his inner world, an infinite landscape veritably drowning in a maelstrom of wind and rain. His inner world was set in eternal day, always and forevermore with the sun set high above them, he could feel it still there shining no matter what, though now a thick blanket of thunderheads was spread overhead and served to block whatever light the invisible sun would shine on the world below. The curtain of rain itself was so thick he could barely see the back of his hand, much less what lie in the distance. He couldn't even tell if the buildings were still...

A brilliant flash snapped him out of his thoughts, instincts screaming for him to dodge to the side in a flash of Shunpo, just before a massive pillar of energy burst through the rain and crushed everything in its path, not even rubble behind in the wake of the attack The ensuing explosion was even more powerful, given that the inner world he had was supposedly infinite, extending in all directions; not that the blast cared as it obviously found the 'floor' of his inner world and detonated, an ever-expanding sphere erupting from wherever the bottom of the world was and bathing all in red.

What he saw when the light faded was something that could give even the most hardened Hunter's nightmares.

Zangetsu never used the full extent of his power, that much was certain, but when confined to the inner world, there were choice times when he gradually let more and more power out in fights. He knew they had all grown in strength, but this was the first time since the destruction of _air_ that he saw the true scope of their growth, starting from Zangetsu as he stood against the dark sky...

...in all his demonic glory.

His overall silhouette was still that of a humanoid with a lean build but that was where the similarities ended. His skin was still white, though even from such a distance and through the rain, Ichigo could swear that the Hollow was glowing, the Hierro he wore at all times strengthened to such an extent that the reiatsu being used was visible. His arms had strange spiked protrusions growing out of his elbows while even from such a distance, the tips of elongated claws seemed to shine with a threatening glint, as if the very light itself was being cut as it traveled down the edge. The robe he wore was loosened, the hole in the middle of his chest was exposed for the entire world to see, new vein-like patterns stretched from the center of his chest towards his extremities.

Still, what would give most men pause was the mask he more, once fearsome enough to give the Espada pause, now something most sane beings would run from sight. It was no longer a plain mask in the sense that it was no longer as 'flat' as it had been, the visage of bone much more terrifying now that it held the visage of terror itself. The two horns from which he channeled the Cero were still the most pronounced, though more ridges and spikes decorated his countenance, bestowing a more feral majesty on the Hollow, an appearance to be feared above all.

It was an appearance that herald the end, the demon of the reaper that would only bring a violent demise.

And now it was angry.

"**This is your fucking fault!**" The demon raged in the middle of a world drenched in the rains of despair.

For the first time in the entirety of their collective existence, it was not Ichigo's fault, but like all things, this did nothing to deter the Hollow's rampage.

He used not his blade, the obscenely sharp object would only serve to quicken the punishment the monster dealt on whichever was his current target of wrath, instead he was only armed with bone white fists coated with malignant red, evaporating the rain as it approached and crushing buildings in the wake of their blows. Where he would aim, nothing would stand and even those considered his equals would be wary of his current appearance, the form of the being that could destroy hell over and over again and still have energy left over. This was the most power the Hollow had ever brought to bare since the time he discovered that he had left Ichigo behind.

The appearance of a Vasto Lorde.

Ichigo was only given enough respite to see the image for a moment before he reflexively held his arms before his face, just in time to block a vicious cross as the Hollow cleared the distance without so much as a sound. The air around him screamed as his form hurtled towards the horizon, his body crashing through building after building as he defended, Zangestu keeping chase and landing one blow after another as they flew through the rain and into the distance. He was defenseless, surprised by the sudden change of scenery that he could not stop the opening blow, and when it came to the Hollow, missing the chance to defend first would lead to inevitable defeat.

For a time he could only weather the blows like the skyscrapers did the heavy rains, but each strike of the Hollow was laced with his reiatsu, a corrosive energy of hollows that, while did not affect him as much as it should have, it still did sting, lowering his defenses and chipping away at whatever fortitude he had bit by bit. He couldn't even muster enough energy to break the acceleration, his efforts easily canceled out the the sheer force of the Bala-infused punch, while when he did try to change trajectory and evade, the demon would follow like his very own shadow, a punch prepared for him even before he finished taking the 'step'.

Against such a vicious onslaught, he didn't even have time to draw his sword much less successfully defend alone.

Good thing he didn't have to .

"What is the meaning of this?" Tensa appeared, black cloth fluttering in the wind despite the striking rain, holding back the red fist of Zangetsu with his own arm, the tell-tale pattern of the blut vein glowing violently against the bala. Power flowing right under his skin, Tensa stood as a wall between the Hollow and Ichigo, his own hand tightly gripping the Hollow's arm to keep the monster from doing anything more drastic.

Of course, one would usually think it was difficult to get any more drastic than trying to kill a person outright, but with Zangetsu one could never know.

Also, the reasoning of a hollow was never the most... stable.

"**You must have some stupid curse on you or something!**" Zangetsu raged violently, breaking off from the Quincy with nothing but a twitch, flinging Tensa several paces back before pointing an accusatory finger at the orange-haired hunter in training. Of course, this being Zangetsu, malevolent red started gathering at the tip of the offending talon, another Cero ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice. "**I'm one hundred percent sure that if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have such a stupid name!**"

In that moment, the storm within Ichigo ceased, the entirety of his soul plunged into silence the instant his brain registered what the Hollow just said.

Even the usually unflappable Tensa had the decency to don an countenance of incredulity at the words of his fellow sword.

"What?!"

In an ironic repeat of what happened before, the entire word turned red-white under the oppressive glow of a Cero being fired.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Don't. Say. Anything." Zangetsu growled at a grinning Narius as the pair haunted the halls of Beacon Academy, the hallowed corridors bustling with life during the day now empty after the sun fell several hours ago.

As a school that required the students to stay in the dormitory, curfew was implemented but seeing as those who were residing there were training to be able to take down monsters at any given moment, they were given a substantial amount of freedom. There was never any real lights out, and one could wander the Academy proper at any time of the night so long as they remained in the Academy complex. Granted it would be hard to sneak out of the school situated at the high point of a cliff, an airship's ride to the nearest city, it had happened before with disastrous consequences.

In the exceedingly rare and implausible situation that one would be forced to leave the campus without informing any of the staff or other students, teammates included, one would be given a week's grace before the teachers themselves would go on a manhunt to catch the offender, whose only hope would be that whatever his or her reason for leaving was, it would be enough to appease agitated teachers and friends alike.

Given that amount of freedom, while relieving, also somewhat troubled Narius. Those rules, as ridiculously specific they were, meant that somewhere down the line, students actually tried to escape the school. Even more confounding was that they had contingencies for an event so specific that it was impossible not to wonder just how far their contingencies went. As one who experienced the machinations of Aizen, as well as observed the convolutions of Urahara, Narius dreaded a third, especially since Ozpin, as mysterious and detached as he was, actually held power over them.

It would not be much of a surprise to him if the man ended up being another chessmaster, but just because he expected it didn't mean he had to like it. He had much too many things to worry about, ranging from the more important matters, like training, the control of information, and keeping the dreaded Aki from turning her wrath towards him, to the simple problems...

Like dealing with an angry Zangetsu after he was chided for being stupid.

"I don't-" Narius, for one fleeting moment forgot how to breathe when the _entirety_ of Zangestu's reiatsu poured forth from his very soul. An ocean of power, vast enough to fill the sky with its terrible red radiance and deep enough to crush the earth under the sheer weight of its being surged forth in an instant, for one infinitesimal moment, Narius was nailed to the world, dead to space and time as he faced the monster he awakened. Gold bored into red murderously, and for one second the Unknown could see the tinge of hesitation that was no doubt peeking from his own eyes.

Zangetsu was strong, of that there was no doubt. The most powerful display of power outside Ichigo's inner world had the potential to tear dimensions asunder... five of them before dissipating in a plume of flame that spanned the skyline of Karakura until a nearby mountain range. That had been when they were not fully merged, when Ichigo had yet to discover that his own soul was desperately trying to reach him, when the orange-haired hero struggled so hard to _repress_ all the strength Zangetsu could bring to bare in favor of the false blade granted by the fragment of the Quincy King. To compare him back then, when he struggled in the very bowels of hell, to the one that threatened the unknown...

...was trying to set gecko side by side with a dragon.

All that _hatred_ pressed against the unknown, forcing, crushing in an attempt to break the being that dared insult him in the one moment the crimson eyed boy was distracted.

And then the moment passed.

Narius was met with hostility, it was only polite, he thought, that he responded in kind.

Narius, time and time again, proved to be just as rational as Ichigo was at the best of times, though as the two who knew his origin at least in part, he could be just as feral as any hollow. He rarely did lose himself, evermore preferring that disgusting grin of his whenever he spoke to others, hiding his own animalistic nature behind a veneer of impeccable etiquette and poise befitting a noble, but when he did it was safe to say no one could deny the sheer power he hid beneath his smile. This one stood shoulder to shoulder with a demon and a god after all, with all the glory to match that of the All Knowing Emperor and all the cruelty to rival a Demon Lord.

Gold rippled forth, crashing against the surge of crimson as soon as Narius regained his bearings, the unknown meeting the hollow's eyes with a mixture between amusement and maddening glee. Power unlike any the world had seen clashed against a void that threatened to devour all in its path in the narrow hall, a tide of blood red weaving, tearing against a river of luminescent gold. Their powers were far from equal, both of them knew this whenever they clashed, but like in the case of Tensa, Narius had enough control over his own golden pool to overcome the crimson tsunami crashing down on him, quelling the ocean of rage in an explosive display of precision.

Even Zangetsu had to be impressed at that point, enough power had been used to turn the area into a lifeless wasteland and the floor wasn't even chipped.

They were lucky that the hallways were empty, and that they had wandered far enough from their acquaintance's quarters, otherwise they would be hard pressed to explain to the staff how they incapacitated a building full of students.

"You will explain yourself Zangetsu." Narius whispered, his countenance uncaring, as if the Hollow could never have crushed the entire school with such a display of rage, though everything that needed to be conveyed fell from his mouth. His utterance lacked venom, needless hostility, but with its absence came a promise; the Hollow needed to speak if he wanted this act assault to be forgiven without bloodshed. If there was still a chance the Hollow would misinterpret the message, the mists that rose from the razor edge of one of his blades quelled all doubt. "Now."

To his credit, Zangetsu did not immediately draw his own blade in response, golden orbs following the trails of sickly yellow that formed a faint nimbus around the unknown's nodachi before turning away in a huff. "You wouldn't understand."

Narius rolled his eyes, dismissing his own weapon before falling in step behind the hollow. "I don't see the big deal, Zangestu it's just-"He caught himself with a breath, eyes widening ever so slightly as a small flash of understanding came upon him. He couldn't help but notice a strange relief that, though Zangetsu didn't seem to take another step forward, he didn't bother turning to see his own turmoil.

"Say it."

Quite a few things changed with Zangetsu over the years, let it not be said that even time could not change the Hollow, and one of those things were the what he valued. After being accepted as a sword, a part of Ichigo's soul and the primary source of his powers, he acted less and less like the Horse and dawned the persona of a fellow King, one that ruled along side Ichigo and Tensa instead of a servant. It was one of the things Ichigo promised a lifetime ago when he first held both his swords in his hands for the very first time, no longer would he call for them for they were always, would always be there.

Conversely, he never did forget the path he had to walk to reach Ichigo's side.

As the one who was there for Ichigo since the beginning, he didn't lie when he told the boy that like Tensa, all he'd ever wanted was to protect the emotionally fragile teen. And since said teen was never the sharpest tool in the shed, he was resolved to do so even if he had to conquer Ichigo himself and take control. Of course, it was best if they worked together to help the boy reach his potential, something they realized years later only when the threat of Quincy rose once more, but before that it was always a struggle to give the boy power. Power that, at the end of it all, was to be used for his benefit.

He was Zangetsu, the Zanpakutō of Ichigo Kurosaki, the Slaying Moon that would Tear the Heavens themselves asunder if only Ichigo called upon him.

And at the end of the day, that was the heart of the problem.

"It's just a name." Narius relented, sighing in defeat before opening his eyes to peer into the golden glints on the Hollow.

"To you, one who was nameless from birth, of course it is." Zangetsu quipped easily, brushing off the words of one who didn't know, who couldn't know what he spoke of. "I don't know what you are, if you are even a part of the King, but you were White once. You were an Arrancar, though since you were as much of a retard as that fire extinguisher, I'm sure you wouldn't understand." He called forth his own blade a moment later, the hilt of a white nodachi fitting perfectly in his hand as his eyes trailed down the razor edge, reflecting what little light the night allowed to exist.

"Explain it to me then." Narius spoke patiently, crossing his arms even as the Hollow continued to appraise his weapon, a perfect inverse of Ichigo's own blade.

The silence was deafening, and the tension so thick it was palpable didn't exactly help.

"Did you know what the most powerful shinigami could do back then?" Zangetsu asked idly, his gaze shifting from the edge of his blade to the form of the unknown. His speech was strangely... proper, lacking his characteristic slurs. "Hyōsube Ichibē they called him, a being with power over one's entire existence should they simply be 'cut' by that fearsome sword of his. Rightfully the leader of the Zero Division, the Royal Guard, one who predates the Gotei 13, the Zanpakutō itself and everything we know and fight with. He didn't do much against that prick of an emperor, but at the end of the day, anyone else would have lost against that monster."

His sword vanished without a whisper. "The Name, whatever you are, has always been important, from Hollow, to Shinigami, to Quincy. Kidō requires at least a name to be used properly, a Zanpakutō before bankai needs a name to be drawn, Quincy call upon the name of their... angels before they wear wings, even Arrancar would name themselves before being born again into their true form. The King, values his own name, the Emperor no matter how much he tries to deny it respects the name he was given, why is it such a mystery that I would be different?"

Of course the Hollow was still a bit sensitive when it came to names, his was stolen from him for the longest time while a false blade wore it with pride. It wasn't so much as a surprise seeing as Ichigo himself never responded kindly when his name was misinterpreted, and given the real significance of names, at least to a Zanpakutō, Narius could never fault him.

As described, the true name of a Zanpakutō could never be separated from it's power. To invoke the name of the sword is to release a small fraction of it into the world, used to defend its wielder by extension, itself. Even when the second release is gained, and one does not need to name the sword to make manifest its power, to truly summon the Spirit of the Soul Cutter into the world and wield power in its entirety, every shinigami needed its name.

To an even broader extent, names themselves have power. The One who Calls the Real Name, the most powerful shinigami and maybe even the one humans knew as Yama himself, possessed the ability to erase one's name, and by extension the power they could call upon, and change it entirely. Narius, despite using a name he gave himself, understood that much, though the current problem was...

"I still don't understand why you're so angry." Narius admitted with an brow quirked curiously. "Your name, Zangetsu, has not been slighted... at all. I don't see the what the-"

"The idiot is part of a tree that practically embodies versatility considering where it could thrive. From the blistering tropics, to the colder tundras, to the mountain peaks themselves, these things grow like it's no one's business." The hollow began on a tangent, speaking of some form of madness while Narius tried to make sense of whatever he was blabbing about this time. "They start small, but grow to great heights, doubly so considering they can thrive on summits despite the cold and after everything, they're not exactly useless either, as they have quite a number of other uses. From berries, to wood, it's truly a tree that could serve a plethora of purposes, further cementing its versatility."

Narius could only stare in confusion before nodding hesitantly. "Okay... why do you know all of this... about a tree?"

"I ripped some info from that Quincy Prick's brain." The hollow growled before explaining, whatever he was talking about. "Now another group of thugs are supposed to be a Princes of Religion, also appropriate considering what exactly that meant back then when these things in power. They already look like stuck up racist assholes as it is, It wouldn't be a surprise if they were just as bad as those people were when all they believed in was a church of some kind. Not much to say about them that isn't already apparent in their behavior."

"And you're point?"

"Red is with jewels, really easy on the eyes those girls, not much to say about that." Okay, now he was beginning to look like the slightly perverted, murderous psychopath Narius dealt with almost daily. "They're good for looking good, in a fight or otherwise, and they're extremely hard despite their age, not exactly useless in a scrap if that bird had anything to say about it. Still, they're not invulnerable, it's clear that they have cracks just as bad as the King's. A bit more pressure, and we'll be seeing red go everywhere. Again, like the other two, their name is proper description, an embodiment of what they are considering the people involved."

Zangetsu took a breath for his tirade. "That being said. **WHAT KIND OF A STUPID NAME IS- **"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"I am starting to think that dragging him underground wasn't the best idea." Kasier confessed to the only other person in the room with a hesitant smile.

Glynda, to her credit, didn't smack the newest teacher in Beacon on the upside of the head and instead simply rolled her eyes in exasperation. The Initiation itself was an overall success, considering the primary goal of the ceremony is assignment of teams -no one ever fails initiation no matter how much the teachers wanted to say otherwise- of course, neither of them thought it would succeed as well as it did.

As the newest teacher in Beacon, Kasier was or should have been in charge of the Initiation ceremony, the entire thing from the testing of the students to the dinner they were supposed to have afterwards. This served as an initiation for the teachers, to confirm if they did had the know-how as well as the character to lead such and operation, and contrary to expectations, he performed rather well. It was also one of the rare events when even Ozpin would admit that he did his job a little too well.

The trials that the students would have needed to accomplish, if left as they were, could only be described in one world; Impossible.

The best and brightest the children were, no one would refute such a statement lightly, even so the tasks Kaiser prepared for them would have easily taken a trained hunter team _days _to accomplish, the Grimm that practically burst from the Emerald Forest notwithstanding. It was notable that the two elder teachers supervising him, Glynda Goodwitch and Ozpin himself, for the life of them couldn't figure out how he managed to find a full grown Tyrant in the forest when the ecosystem couldn't even support a Goliath. With those two pieces of information in consideration, it was doubtful the children would even survive, much less finish whatever the teacher had in mind.

At least that was what they originally thought, until a certain team, who brought back a relic once thought lost to the Academy, proved them wrong.

It seemed that, no matter how thorough the headmaster and she was, some of the more subtle preparations Kasier left on the forest were left untouched during the clean up operation. A large labyrinth, about five stories high, or low in this case, and spanning about half of the campus lay beneath the forest floor, with only one way in and one way out. According to the architect himself, it was true to the name, a maze filled with creatures not known for size or strength, but stealth and legality. The Grimm he managed to squeeze in that literal hell hole weren't predators known to stalk and pounce, they were masters of ambush, creatures that would kill the moment anything living enter's striking range.

A gateway to Death's Door in the bowels of the earth, literally the point of no return.

Beacon alumni or not, trained hunters wouldn't be able to escape such a trap in a week, much less unscathed, but the boy managed to break out with nary a scratch in an hour.

The true source of their worry was _how_ he, they did it.

Team Juniper, JNPR, comprised of Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, managed to take down a Death Stalker in close combat thanks to some quick thinking and impressive teamwork. Battering the creature would never be enough with the power they held, but as soon as they found an opening, they exploited it and hammered the final nail in the beast's coffin, that said nail being its own stinger. It was arguable if it really died when the hammer of a certain hyperactive student fell, though there was no mistake of its demise when it fell into the ravine that spanned several hundred meters from the edge of the cliff the the bottom of the pit. The four managed to climb the canyon wall soon after, with the pieces of the white rook in hand, and thereby passing the initiation.

They weren't even the best, or to be more appropriate, the flashiest.

Team Ruby, RWBY, with Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, did something more impressive by felling a Nevermore, the largest creature Ozpin allowed in the forests during the initiation. They did not start perfectly, it would be too much to expect that from them, but any with a good eye for skill could see that individually they were exemplary fighters. When they finally put their heads together, executing a plan thought of by the youngest in the party, each one acted accordingly, highlighting their individual strengths and covering for each other's weaknesses. Using a strategy that worked even against the heated stinger of the Deathstalker, they pinned it to the canyon wall, coupled with pure speed, they pulled its head from its shoulders and presented their white knight pieces victoriously.

What the four disappearing teens did trumped them all.

They were the last team to make it to the cliff-side, that being said, the way they made an entrance was nothing short of awe inspiring. The night was about to fall, and with all the other teams already assembled in the area, Ozpin was just about to send Kaiser out to retrieve the students he had somehow dragged into his underground labyrinth. The newest teacher, though somewhat childish, was resolved to amend his error, though in the end, it looked like he didn't have to.

The rest of the initiates were present when the teacher mounted the launching platform, each teacher was armed with the knowledge to control their flight-path, and each and every one of them bore witness to the utterly _titanic_ pillar of light that erupted from the ruins, the exact area where both team Ruby and Juniper fought their final opponents. The shockwave followed after, no one in attendance among the students prepared for the gale that tore through the entire forest ripping through several trees below and sending some stumbling backwards despite the sheer distance between the cliff and the center of the explosion.

Even as the winds continued to rage, some could make out four figures as they approached, riding on the howling winds themselves and touching down just as they died down. All watched with wide eyes and bated breath as Ichigo practically threw one half of a chessboard at Kaiser, which the latter dexterously caught, before the newest teacher was unceremoniously floored by the other half, impacting with a sickening crack while Zangetsu admired his handiwork.

Without so much as a word, the four walked towards their peers, silently waiting for Ozpin to give his verdict before anything else.

"How could I know something like that was hiding down there?" Kaiser once more complained as Glynda leveled a chastising glare against him.

Now it was her turn to give him credit. Ozpin aside, most lesser men cringe at her glares, and Kaiser, for better or for worse, looked just as indignant and childish as he usually did.

"Oh come on, if anything this was your fault. Keeping an eye on mine in the forest isn't supposed to be my job." She recoiled as if struck when he brought that little tidbit up. "I mean, didn't you guys _notice_ a giant weapon of mass destruction hiding somewhere in the forests, where the _yearly _initiation takes place. That alone makes it almost impossible to miss such a dangerous object if you scan it properly each time. That thing could've killed everyone here!"

The more veteran, it was doubtful if she really was older than the childish teacher in terms of pure age, huntress had to concede that point.

An Aura mine, also known as a Dust mine, was a weapon of mass destruction used in the war for a single purpose, total annihilation of an enemy, whether stronghold or army. It worked in a very straightforward manner, the simplest of mines being an obscene amount of unrefined Dust ignited via Aura or other means to produce an explosion, while other more complex variants could cause more creative destruction though the addition of varying Dust types. From turning an area into a massive fireball or producing a sinkhole deep enough to fit a city, these were objects that were inseparable from the Great War, wielded by humans against the creatures of Grimm, other humans, and faunus alike.

By studying the explosion, it looked to be an explosive incinerator variant, one made to release an immense pressure wave after the initial explosion and turn anything caught the resulting vacuum to nothing but ashes. If it went off correctly, with the lay of the land being as it was, the entire Emerald Forest would have become something of a fire pit, trees and bodies burning with the ensuing blast of heat after the initial explosion would blast against the bedrock, creating a furnace that would burn everything in reach. As it turned out, creating such an elaborate labyrinth above the mine actually saved them, the long winding passageways providing some form of a buffer for the initial shockwave to escape from, and thereby minimizing the fire damage.

In the end, the idiocy of the newest teacher saved them quite a bit of trouble, if only it didn't deliberately involve a student.

Save the entire school, or at least everyone and everything down in the Emerald Forest, Kasier did, but with it came endangering specific a team.

"Do not presume to shift all the blame on us, Kaiser." Glynda snapped in reply, striking the desk with her crop hard enough to crack the hardwood. "While you're little... scheme in the end, managed to save us quite a number of problems, you still failed to disarm all your little traps, and almost killed four of our students. That in itself is worthy-"

"That in itself is no fault of mine." Kaiser firmly intoned in reply, his expression quickly shifting from one of surprise to one of resolved rebellion. "Sure, I took the kid, but only because I _know _him. What I left under that maze would probably serve as something of a warm up to those monsters." He complimented the children with a defiant smile, his arms confidently, and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

The woman quirked and elegant brow. "Are you implying, he was the one who caused the explosion in the first place?"

Of course there was always that possibility to consider. Of all the weapons used in the Great War, only a large Dust mine would be able to cause such an explosion, assuming it didn't meet much resistance since the empty caverns of the labyrinth offered close to none. Even in the weapons available on the market, black or otherwise, couldn't compare to the large explosion the rocked the bottom of the forest floor, and created enough of a blast to be felt close to miles away.

"Now, Glynda, wouldn't that be impossible?" He countered with a widening smirk.

She shook her head in exasperation, refusing to give the childish huntsman the satisfaction. _It should be impossible... right?_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo viewed himself as a more patient person that he was a lifetime ago. He wouldn't jump the gun if one of his friends were in trouble anymore, and instead try and study the situation to find the best course of action to take. He would heed the advice he is given this time, trusting the words of one more experienced the he was when it came to the situation, instead or rushing in blind and more often than not doing more harm that good. He would be willing to learn slowly if he must, just so that he would grow into a better person, both inside and outside of combat instead of being content as a person known as the delinquent all the time. He was willing to wait until action, combat, was the best course of action to take.

Of course if all else failed, and worst came to worst, he could just crush everything with his reiatsu, but no one needed to know that.

Anyway, he was more patient than he was, well not really, but even then his patience had limits, and his problems started much too early.

Contrary to what Kaiser must have thought, there really was a Dust mine in the labyrinth he prepared, and it really did detonate while they were down there. That being said, it was more comparable to a student's Shakkahō rather than one of Aizen's reiatsu blasts. It was Zangetsu, who else was that irritable, at the end who blew his top first, though as usual Narius was quick enough to intercept the wave of power that exploded from the hollow's form. What no one expected was for one of the stealthier Grimm, an arachnid-like creature known as a Depthweaver, to burst from the wall behind them, taking them completely by surprise as their senses were clouded with the sheer density of their collective reiatsu.

It was an accident, a blunder than never should have occurred, and as a reflex, each of them used their spiritual pressure to defend themselves.

If any of them did so alone, then nothing would have happened save the Depthweaver meeting an untimely and violent end, but all four of them did so at a magnitude equal to Zangetsu's initial blast, unleashing power even greater than any one of them could manage. Between a Zanpakutō and a shinigami, something called resonance existed, a phenomenon that increases the output of power drastically of both the spirit of the sword and its wielder acted as one. The reiatsu unleashed would be far greater than the sum of two parts, something observed during the Kuchiki Koga incident when several shinigami needed to exploit the phenomenon to close to tear in the space of Soul Society.

All that power, resonating with each other, coalescing to the point of bursting, was unleashed in the narrow cave, and with nowhere to go but out, it erupted. No matter how much they tried to reign in the pressure they exerted, the act was done and an instant later, all they could do was brace themselves for the trouble they found themselves in and rushed out of the giant crater in a burst of high speed movement.

Mentally berating himself for being so careless, Ichigo gave, rather violently, the 'pieces' they retrieved to Kaiser and awaited further orders.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, they were accepted with cheers and open arms and allowed to attend the closing ceremonies after their 'triumphant return' as Nora coined it. In hindsight, it would have been better if they skipped it entirely and remained in the medical ward, then they wouldn't have to deal with rampaging Zangetsu all over again. Fainting out of nowhere, most likely in the middle of the hallway, was one thing, having his teammate disappear wasn't better, and having to fight a Vasto Lorde, his level, without any aid or weaponry was at another level of pain.

No permanent damage since it was his soul, but still, being thrown through several building past the speed of sound hurt, dammit!

The worst had yet to come it seemed, as when he did return to the world of the living, thankfully unharmed, he couldn't help but eloquently blurt out the first thing in his mind.

"What's everyone doing in my room?"

The two who knew him best, at least among the octet currently surrounding him, sighed in relief, Pyrrha gracing him with a tranquil smile while Weiss quickly schooled her features, once more donning an expression benefiting his favorite flower-wielding noble.

Between the two of them, it was Pyrrha who spoke first. "You gave us quite a scare Ichigo." At this her countenance turned a bit more serious. "The explosion you rode to the cliff took a heavy toll on your body, I'm surprised you managed to power through the ceremony running on fumes. Try not to push yourself next time, seeing a friend faint in the middle of the courtyard isn't exactly the best of ways to end the day."

"You should have stayed in the medical ward, you dunce." Weiss chided coolly, for some reason, refusing too meet his gaze as she stared out the window. "You're lucky you had us to hold vigil over you instead of those... ruffians. Who knows what they might have done to you in your sleep."

"Great to see you too, Hellion, Princess. Didn't know you cared so much." Ichigo pointedly ignored the slight blush creeping over the latter's pale cheeks and the outraged glare the former leveled at him. "I get why you two are here, maybe a little of the idiot too, but why are the rest of you in my room?"

"Mrs Bostov-" He still had to fight hard to keep the laughter from surfacing when he heard that stupid name. "-knows what happened and asked me too keep you posted. There was also a matter of your m-"

"Alright, next. Ren?" The orange-haired hero deftly cut off what Jaune was about to say, no way in hell is he going to give the a reason to call him a Mama's boy, before turning to the silent watcher of the group.

Ren gestured quietly towards Nora, who unlike the others, decided the room was more worth her time, mumbling something that sounded like 'He'll be up any second now' before her quite partner tapped her on the shoulder. Ichigo had the slight urge to facepalm, he was already talking and Nora still didn't pay him any attention until Ren prodded her. It took a moment for the hyperactive girl to, without so much as an instant's hesitation, leap at him as soon as Ren's had made contact.

Ichigo could swear he could see the outline of his father superimpose itself on the grinning girl before he thoroughly crushed that though. Reflexes much too sharp for a student and the will to kill landed him into this trouble in the first place, he still needed a measure of control if he wanted to survive, with the rest of his schoolmates that is. With that at the forefront of his mind, he jumped out of his bed, clearing the form of the orange-haired girl in a single bound before landing perfectly on his feet, his hand outstretched just in time to catch Nora's approaching form.

"Is this what Mr. Kaiser calls the iron claw?" She asked with a grin as Ichigo pushed her back onto the bed, the girl laughing all the way as she rolled, her feet on the floor as she sat up across him. "Ichi's back up~ See, I told you. This is Ichigo we're talking about. He's the type to ride on an Ursa Major in nothing but his underwear and laugh it off like it's nothing... Or was that Zangetsu? I don't know anymore. Nice to see you back in the land of the living Ichi! They were worried."

He hoped to whatever still watched over them that the rest of the eight didn't take Nora seriously.

"I would have stopped her..." Ren began, though the small tug on the edge of his lips told Ichigo everything he needed to know.

"She took you on a ride, didn't she?" He shook his head before Ren could utter the question on his mind. "No, I didn't teach her that-"

"Yeah, he'd never do anything awesome. That would be me." Zangetsu strolled in, what looked to be a bag of chips under his arm before Narius followed soon after. "Nice party you got going on, Ichigo, what's the occasion?"

"Oh, we wanted to see if you guys were alright." A girl with red hair, Ruby Rose if what he heard from the teams was correct. "I'm Ruby by the way, you seem to know Weiss already, so this is Blake and Yang. We're team Ruby!" She finished her flashy introduction, Weiss scoffing behind her while Blake, a black haired girl, rolled her eyes, and Yang, a blonde bombshell, sent a flirtatious wink his way. "Juniper already introduced themselves while you were asleep, so who are you guys?"

"Entering the room of people you don't now, isn't exactly the smartest of choices, little girl." Tensa, or Brennan as he was to be called in the presence of others, called from the doorway, silently appraising the octet in the room and giving Blake and almost imperceptible nod of recognition. One she returned to his surprise, as of all of them, Brennan didn't seem to be the most outgoing, Ichigo himself included. "Aren't you going to introduce us, Ichigo?"

He had to keep his jaw from falling as he detected something... strange in the expression of his stoic sword; a shadow of a smirk though one meant to tease him nonetheless. He expected this from Zangetsu, Narius, even Kaiser and Nozomi, but Brennan? This was just getting a bit too strange. "Seeing as some of you know at least one of us, let's make this quick. Ichigo, Zangetsu is the white guy, Brennan is the one at the door and Narius smiles too much. We're team IZBN, or" He had to take a breath. He knew that Zangetsu was prone to over reacting, but even he had to admit the name was going to be a sore spot in the future.

"Team Isabelline."

It was a good thing all he received were nods of understanding, otherwise he was sure Zangetsu would rampage again.

And that was how four cracked gems, four seedlings, and four siege engines, finally met.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"So, how do you two know each other?" Pyrrha couldn't hide her curiosity as she switched her gaze from the cool ice princess, the last of their companions to exit the room to the stoic battle master leaning on the wall a few paces away.

All of the others, her teammate and team Ruby, have retired for the night, Ichigo's own companions leaving as a act of either respect or childishness to give them some time to talk. Of course she completely ignored the last comment of the white robed one, Zangetsu. The sheets would be as clean and dry as they were when she entered the room, thank you very much. Still, she could appreciate the fact that they were given time, now that they had a common acquaintance on their hands.

She didn't know either very well, only hearing about Weiss Schnee in passing and meeting Kurosaki Ichigo much less often as she would have liked. From what she did know of the girl, she was one of the heirs to the Schnee Dust company along side her sister, Winter Schnee, though other than her name, face and talent for music, not much was known about the heiress.

On Ichigo, she had quite a few more pieces of information coupled with personal encounters. She knew he was a great fighter, no one has ever beaten her with a weapon when using nothing but fists and technique themselves, and that he had a heart of gold. He was quite the gentleman, no matter what happened and somewhat of a prude whenever something happened in a fight, but they were always acquaintances at closest rather than normal friends due to the frequency at which they meet.

Teasing each other aside, they didn't really have much time to get to know each other, aside from how good the other was in a scrap. She knew from the way he acted, he was used to being the more 'mature' person of the group, though he did have his moments of childish whimsy with her father's friend, how ever rare and far apart those were. He was also an excellent judge of character, though that apparently didn't apply all the time since in the beginning, he sincerely thought she was a the type of person to settle problems with her fist. Okay, she would admit maybe she used that solution a bit too much with him in particular, but it wasn't as if it didn't work.

He was, in her eyes at least, a muscle head too, so of course she would wonder how her mostly combat oriented friend got acquainted to a heiress of one of the largest companies in the world before she did.

"That's a story she should tell, not me." He replied with a faraway look on his face, his eyes on the moonlight sky rather than her. "It happened quite a while ago though, just a few weeks before I met you actually. It wasn't the happiest of times for her, I just don't have the right to tell it."

The Invincible Girl smirked knowingly. "Of course it is, when you're involved, nothing can ever be simple." She rubbed her chin in thought before voicing one of her most interesting ideas. "Let me guess, she was in some sort of trouble, maybe a few bullies from the neighborhood. She was surrounded, maybe even in tears and then, with light at your back, you swoop in, beating the bad bullies in one hit and wipe the tears from the poor princess's eyes. You carry her home, leaving all mysterious-like as she sleeps in your arms, only to be reunited several years later in school. Did it happen somewhere along those lines?" She breathed between giggles, falling into the bed of her friend quite awhile ago as she wiped away tears of laughter with the sheets.

Of course she expected to look back at him and see an expression of irritation, maybe an even deeper scowl than usual. She always seemed to smile when he scowled, as if to counterbalance the mount of gloom he always excluded, and this time was no different except for one minor detail. She expected that _look, _what she didn't expect was a slight amount of color on his cheeks. "What? Don't tell me that actually happened?"

"She's the heiress to some big shot company. I'm pretty sure the Schnee's aren't that stupid. At least I think not all rich people are stupid." Ichigo replied with a more relaxed tone as his scowl receded, his expression one of rare thought rather than his harsh frown. "If I remember correctly, you gave me even more trouble the day we met. I know for a fact that at least she didn't challenge a crying child to a fight."

It was always strange to be with Ichigo. No matter what the situation was, by doing nothing at all she would always act differently. That was one of the reasons she wanted to spend time with him in the first place.

Anywhere else she was perfect. Impeccable, infallible, someone who could do no wrong. She would still succumb to anger, but more often than not, it was justified. She would still be clutched by sadness though she did extremely well to hide it away behind her blinding smile. She would never lose composure unless it was reasonable to do so, never show the slightest bit of attachment unless she was truly invested, and never slight a person unless they deserved nor respect.

"It all worked out in the end didn't it, you little crybaby?" She asked with a giggle, calling him over to the bed with a casual gesture. "Come on, you did end up laughing after we messed around for a bit. It wasn't all bad, right?"

"Yes, it was, and wining against a little girl in a fight isn't going to make anything better." He seemed to stalk through the dark room, the only source of light being the moon through the curtains before she felt his weight settle on the bed, just a small distance beside her. "You reminded me of something best left forgotten after all, it wasn't exactly the best of things to do."

But with the orange-haired boy, who so handily beat her and a trained huntsman in a fight, he made her promise not to tell anyone, she was a child again. She would drop her mature persona and open herself up, exchanging light blows, verbal or otherwise with him, and laughing all the while like a little girl. This was what she missed all those times she was away, she missed simply being in the same room with an equal.

He was someone who would just talk with her casually, someone who didn't care about what she did, or how good she was simply because he was just a great if not superior to her in those particular respects. He was someone who didn't put her on a pedestal, simply because he didn't need to do so. He could understand her because they were, if not on the same level, extremely close in terms of background. He would never look up to her, and she appreciated that; he would always look he dead in the eye no matter what.

"Is the little crybaby still bitter about the talk?" She all but sang as green met golden brown, repressed mischief clashing against patient exasperation.

"Is the sore loser still mad about failing twice?" He deadpanned back, almost smiling in response to her uncharacteristic grin.

"Maybe." She didn't bother stifling the giggle, falling back on the bed with enough force to cause him to shift.

She could be her, and it was liberating.

No matter how deep his scowl, how dark the air he wore, she found solace in his presence, a refuge she could turn to when keeping perfection ingrained within her became too much to bear. With him, she could be open, real, human. She didn't need to be the Invincible Girl, she didn't need to be little miss perfect, she didn't need to be the champion, she could just be the girl with flame colored hair and green

He was one of the only people who she could just be with as a normal person, and she wanted that more than anything. Sure, he would never loosen up unless she did so first, and would most likely be a horrible source of advice outside combat, but he was her, much to her shame, first and currently only, real friend there.

She would be an idiot not to treasure their relationship.

"Hey Pyrrha." His voice abruptly cut through the comfortable silence, before the girl laying beside him hummed dreamily in response. "Thanks for helping Jaune out for me."

"Don't make it sound like that's the only reason why I'm helping him out." Pyrrha chided him playfully from the bed. "He's a great guy, sure probably a bit clueless at times and not exactly the best in a straight up fight, but he has his moments. A strategic genius if I ever did see one. If only he could use some of that smarts when he's the one fighting, or when he isn't fighting at all."

"He reminds me of a certain bully who always loved to pick on me back then." Ichigo nodded sagely, ignoring the heatless glare the girl on his bed shot at him. "For some reason, she was always nice to everyone else. When it came to me though, it's like she had it out for me or something. Could never figure out why."'

"Did you, I don't know, ever ask her?" Pyrrha offered absentmindedly. This was what they did sometimes, give each other advice, though more often than not, it was Pyrrha doing the talking while Ichigo struggled to give any helpful tips. She would end the sessions rather quickly in the rare occasion the orange-haired boy had problems that had to be solved with something other than violence.

"Never thought of that." Ichigo confessed before his characteristic scowl turned into a smirk. "So what was up with that Pyrrha?"

He got a heavy punch on the shoulder for his trouble.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"This is gold!" Nozomi cheered from the couch, watching the interaction between one of her oldest, now probably youngest, friends and a girl he knew from a decade past. "They're just so cute~"

"And probably illegal." She turned to her husband, her perverted, annoying, and cowardly husband as he, for the first time in quite a while, became the voice of reason between them. "We did tap into Beacon's security system."

"I see, so he's nabbed another one huh?" A blonde haired lady commented offhandedly before stuffing her mouth with popcorn. "Who wants to see him look all romantic at a girl anyway?" She did nothing to avert her eyes from the screen though.

"Come on, Ririn, you need not be as harsh on young Kurosaki-sama. Isn't that right, Noba?" A bespectacled man referred to another figure hidden under a hood, a small nod caused a small disturbance in the dark blue cloth but other than that, he showed no sign of any intent to respond any further. "You know as well as everyone in this room what he had to suffer though for everyone here."

"Yeah, cut little Ichi some slack, Ririn." She gently chided the younger woman before turning back to Kaiser with beautiful smile fit for the devil himself. "And you, my dearest, are you complaining?" She taunted, eyeing him slyly, the way his expression subtly shifted under a mask of righteous indifference not escaping her gaze.

It took him a full minute of changing from the coy look of his loving wife to the strange scene playing on the wall before them before he said his next words. "Please pass the popcorn."

She handed him the bowl she clutched to her chest when he first tried to stop her, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek before leaning on him as they continued to watch the teenage antics of the Hero of the Thousand Year War and the Invincible Girl. Kaiser was right when he first described the couple to her, they were as mature as children their age were, but they were so innocent that it was adorable. More than them, more than the strangeness of watching Ichigo remain a child while she, as strange as it was, grew, more than everything, she was happy.

For once in who knows how many existences, she was happy.

She was an affront to life after all, something that should never have been brought into being.

She never deserved any of it, all the pain, all the hardship, all the despair she had to endure through her several decades of existence. She didn't like to admit it, but deep down in her very soul, if it could even be called that, she didn't deserve the happiness either. All the strange feelings of warmth and family she felt from Kaiser, Kon as he was then and their friends back in the old world, all the relief that washed over her when it was finally over and they had won against the madman, even the peace she felt when she embraced Kon for what should have been the last time before she bravely faced whatever awaited unnatural creations such as they.

She was the first of them after all, the first success in what would be known later as Project Spearhead, an endeavor focused on a single goal; to create a substitute for the shinigami. She was thrown away just as quickly when those who took care of the experiments were caught, though as far as the authorities were concerned she was nothing but a 'thing'. For who knows how long she was stuck in a state of limbo, not exactly conscious but not slumbering either, in a void where she was the only thing in existence and time held no meaning.

And exactly like the first time around, she woke up. Imagine her surprise though when instead of a single brother greeting her as she woke, she found two, and a little sister beside them, bawling their eyes out when she met their tear filled gazes. She lost her friends that day, an orange-haired child who couldn't read the mood and a perverted lion who, till the end, only wanted to feel her up and after everything it still hurt.

But she regained a family, each one of them still etched into her memory when she finally managed to find out how many of her 'siblings' still survived. She gained a family that day in Ririn, the small terror who was her one and only little sister, Noba, the shy and quiet little brother who would never resort to teleporting away when she felt the need to tease him, and Kurōdo, the perfect gentleman who she finally managed to convince that long winded sentences weren't necessary.

They were almost as bad as he first family, though she supposed that was what helped her carry on. It was much easier to get attached to them this time, the fact that she was used to dealing with weirdos and that they were exactly like her being of great help, and with what little they knew about the world, they were able to get by. They lived in a peaceful, a place they would have easily mistaken for a minor settlement far from the districts of Rukongai, and it was there she found peace and fulfillment in simply living with her new found family. She shouldn't have expected the peace to last long, and true enough trouble reared it's ugly head a year later.

That was the first time they fought something so similar to a Hollow, and though it wasn't exactly Arrancar level, what it lacked in strength it more than made up for in numbers. While they could easily dispatch what came their way, the village was lost in a number of hours, overrun by creatures that symbolized negativity rather than true emptiness and despair. They, as beings created to fight the darkness in the place of humans, held fast against the rising tide of black, repelling the onslaught but slowly ebbing away as the endless horde continued crashing against them.

Her three siblings were sensors and support units first, true front line fighters second, and though she somehow managed to channel the strength of the dying monsters into her sword, they were weakening. She considered running, leaving what was their home for the last year behind and walk the world until, by some miracle, they found some place to stay. She would be fine as long as she was not alone, she would be their support and them hers. As long as they weren't alone anymore, they could be happy, they _would_ be happy; it was the least they could do for those who sacrificed so much to get them there.

For once, fate smiled upon them for in the end, they didn't have to.

She still remembered the first words he said to her that day.

_"I promised to protect you all those years." He muttered behind grit teeth, his arms and legs burning with strange reiatsu as he held back the last monster standing with nothing but his palm. "I promised you we'd always be together. So.." Power rippled forth from his free hand as he struck the beast in the stomach, it's form bursting with blinding light that left nothing in its wake as he finally turned to face her. "... can you stay with me this time, Nozomi?"_

Of course it would have gone infinitely better if Ririn wasn't there to immediately begin berating Kon on 'being late,' 'keeping a lady waiting,' and having such a 'horrible proposal.'

She did say yes then and there though, calling him _her_ pervert as he embraced her much too _thoroughly_ to be considered chaste.

If one asked, she was satisfied with that alone, and not long after that she had the one with the second most impact on her life at her doorstep. As a child, with his mother behind him, she couldn't help feel that it was finally her turn to pay him back for how he saved her back then. Of course she couldn't defend him like he did for her, but when it came to matters of the heart, namely when he rescued a damsel in distress and won the eye of another soon after, she would give it her all.

"When he said he wanted to know how to deal with them, I don't think he meant this." Kaiser was the one to raise that point, though it was one of warning rather than protest. It was agreed upon that no one would tell the boy or his mother of their... surveillance operation, no matter how much it would benefit the boy and his social life later on. To deal with an irate Ichigo was hard enough, coupled with a mother's righteous anger, it would be impossible.

"Come hell or high water. Be it this night, the week after, even within this year..." Everyone in the room buried their faces in whatever was on hand, Noba leaned on the wall, Ririn searched under the popcorn, Kurōdo found it apt to closely examine a throw pillow, while Kasier went with the classic palm on face. Everyone knew what was coming next. "A Ship will sail."

And for once the rest of the family was all in agreement as they spoke as one. "You spend too much time with Narius and Zangetsu!"

* * *

**AN**

**I feel that this is the most confusing chapter yet, so much so that here's a recap of what happened:**

**1: Canon RWBY, when Ozpin should be observing R and W. (during the initiation)**

**2: Zangetsu and Ichigo in the inner world (after the initiation)**

**3: Zangetsu and Narius, an explanation on Bleach naming and its significance**

**4: Kaiser and Glynda talking about the initiation (some part of this explains what happened from an outside perspective)**

**5: Ichigo and the rest of the gang (there's a reason Zangetsu, Narius, and Brennan[Tensa] weren't there in the beginning) Obviously after initiation**

**6: Ichigo and Pyrrha: will they or won't they =))**

**7: Kasier (Kon) and Nozomi: shippers on deck, and some history with the rest of the mod soul family!**

**That out of the way, this one is, and was the hardest for me the write, obviously given the time it took for me to bring it out. I'm actually quite satisfied with it, a bit more plot and character dev, some action if you squint, and much more ship teasing. For all those asking, yes I read the comments and take your opinions seriously, though what will happen is still up in the air. I can't confirm or deny anything as of yet in the romance department except that Kaiser will forever be with Nozomi(apologies to those who hate the filler but I thought it was kind of sad to see it end that way)**

**The naming problem is self explanatory, seeing as Zangetsu still finds it difficult when his name was stolen a while ago. Given how important names are (Royal Guard scary) he's just reacting the way Ichigo did when Fullbring arc was at it's climax and his entire life had been edited (or the memories of his loved ones, same thing really) Also, Isabelline, IZBN, a stretch yeah, but when I heard of a color that sounded girly and was supposedly named after an event that had to do with a siege(Like the current arc) I just had to use it. On a side note, the legends around the color is funny too, so that had some bearing.**

**On Pyrrha, no she isn't OCC, or at least not exactly. She's, as I've been hammering down over and over, too nice in the end, and as seen in the dance, that would lead to repressed emotions. My Pyrrha is still under pressure, though much less now that she has an EQUAL(much of her broken ace background was being separated emotionally from others) could confide it. They seem comfortable with each other, and that's because they kind of are. (She is my Tatsuki analog in the way that Jaune is my Keigo)**

**Trust an introvert, one person is enough as long as they listen. **

**As for the romance between them, if there is any, I will not confirm or deny. You just have to watch me tease every ship I can think of before landing in the sweet spot (most fun/interesting to write and read).**

**Revs answering: again, thanks for all your support guys, really just seeing people tell me I'm doing a good job, albeit a long, winding, confusing job, means a lot to me. All comments regarding the story, suggestions, opinions, will be taken seriously. I want to get better as much as you guys want to read better stuff.**

**Specifics: Gate: no Butterfly here, Ozzy could feel the pressure so it's a person who is by no mean's stronger than Ichigo. From the Bleachverse, but exactly who, and if they are friend or foe, you would have to read to find out. Don't worry about it, I'll be explaining that after I finish RWBY season 2 here.**

**Aegorm: Thanks for giving it a chance, hope you like it, if and to a lesser extent when, you come back. This one's for you =))**

**Kurai: Yes, I have been getting that a lot. I'm trying you guys, so please bear with me if you have the patience to do so. If you do not, I can't exactly say I don't care, but I thank you for taking part in it, even if just through a screen. It's that kind of wishful thinking that keeps me going. **

**Struggle: assuming you do get here and still don't know who Narius is... that's perfectly normal. He claims to be the Fullbring part of Ichigo, but what he truly is, well we'll see. **

**I'm in collage guys, at an age younger than some of my peers, and am not exactly a super genius. I write when I can, and therefore can not promise the next release date. I'm already 3 months too late as it is. On a happier note, RWBY 3 is on the horizon, can't wait to see what the have in honor of the Great OUM. **

**In minor news, Tifa vs Yang is on screw attack, interesting. **

**Just wanted to get this out there before both the battle and the premier of season 3 XD**

**This has been Proccit**

**SEE YA! :))**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: First Day Blues**

* * *

For one rare moment, Weiss was helpless.

Never mind the fact that Noir, or Ichigo as his real name was, lied to her on the day she was rescued. Forget the fact that Pyrrha Nikos was paired up with a bumbling blond idiot rather than someone, anyone, who could bring out even a fraction of her true potential. Ignore that her team was a bunch of simpletons, specifically consisting of herself, a childish little tyke who managed to puppy-dog-eyes her way into beacon, a brutish bimbo who cared for her mane and horrid ability to pun more than her own sister, an outspoken idealist who didn't know when to talk or when to shut up, and of course herself.

No, the worst of it was it wasn't even her own team; the name they were given was testament to that in itself.

Team Ruby, or RWBY, no matter how one looked at it, was and forevermore a monument to one of the youngest students who have ever walked Beacon's halls

It was a team she was a part of, not a proud part mind you, and she didn't even have any sway in it.

Oh she wasn't naive, she knew that somehow, they were all against her, or at least if they weren't it was for all the wrong reasons.

The blond bimbo was something of her antithesis, the hot to her cold so to speak. On the first night there was already friction between them, and that was because she was _justifiably_ angry at the child knocking over her luggage and nearly blowing the both of them to kingdom come. The black rebel was even worse, having the gall to step up and call her out on an imagined slight even before they had any proper interaction. The first thing she did was chide her for something not even her fault to begin with. The child was, simply put, a crowd pleaser. From the first night, to the initiation itself, she moved in a frail attempt to keep everyone satisfied, and that was just unrealistic.

It was easy to conclude that she wouldn't be able to count on them for support, not when all their interactions, as scarce as they were, involved one party antagonizing the other.

That was perfectly fine for her though, she could easily survive the school on her own with the skills she managed to obtain in preparation for Beacon.

Anyway, the decision to... create a measure of distance between her and her teammates was quickly acted upon, the white heiress wandering the halls in the pale morning light as the rest of her team presumably slumbered the early morning away. It was just after sunrise, and the crisp morning air coupled with total silence was exactly what she needed to calm her nerves before she would have to inevitably return to her team. She knew it was a simple distraction, a fleeting moment of peace before she would need to throw herself back into the den of wolves, but she planned to enjoy it as long as it lasted.

Peace never seemed to last in her household, at the very least she could enjoy those rare moments of relief here.

She selected a secluded enough spot, one end of the lobby positively glowing in the soft morning light calling to her in the silence of the dawn. In the calm, she filled herself with the cool morning air and breathed. She would have begun singing to herself had the soft sound of metal being drawn not reached her ears.

Then she saw him.

In the middle of the courtyard immediately outside the dormitory, Ichigo was there, staying perfectly still with both a black blade in his left hand and its perfect inverse in his right. He was the picture of a tranquil lake, an endless unending horizon where no movement stirred, no trace of strained concentration, no sign of his chest rising and falling with his breath. For a moment, time was stilled as the girl simply watched the boy do absolutely nothing. He did it _perfectly_.

And then he moved.

The movement was anything but fast, rather it was the exact opposite. Flowing and deliberate, heavy but precise, his blades moved through the air, making no noise as they glided and cut that which was no there. The blades kept at their slow, almost leisurely pace as the body of the teen moved with them, steps graceful in its certainty and movements devoid of any hesitation or strain.

She knew those blades, one a cavalry weapon of a time long past and the other a heavy if not thinned scimitar, and the fact that the boy could wield them with such effortless poise simply spoke volumes of his skills. The absence of enemies to slay aside, this transcended simple training, it was a dance with the blades heralding the death of any foolish enough to step into their reach, even in their measured pace.

For one who wielded a weapon of elegance, that which focused more on technique and execution rather than pure speed or power, this was the end to which she trained for. No wasted movements, no skittish steps, no trace of breath, nothing but a pair of blades dancing with the man who held them Fluidly dipping and rising, twisting and flowing, they seemed to glow with each movement while never touching despite how neither ever ceased in their motion.

She didn't know how many minutes he spent simply being there and moving with his blades but after a final pose, she heard him sigh in satisfaction before sheathing his swords with nothing more than a soft click.

Smoldering amber peered into cloudy celeste. She must have been making quite the expression, if the confused tone he used to address her was anything of basis. "Wiess?"

"That was a beautiful routine. I didn't think your fighting style would allow such grace." She stepped closer, taking a seat on one of the many benches in the area before elegantly crossing her legs and resting her cheek on a dainty hand. "It has been quite some time since our last serious conversation, Noir. Or should I call you Ichigo?" Her voice was... relaxed for the most part, but she could not help the tinge of hurt that mixed in.

He must have detected it, as his scowl, maybe his usual expression if memory served, softened significantly. "I wasn't supposed to be there, so using a codename was kind of necessary. Other than that, I meant every word, princess." He seemed a bit awkward at first, explaining why a one lied about a name when he did have the best intentions at heart was never easy. "That being said, Beacon huh? I would have expected you to stay in Atlas if anything."

"I wanted to broaden my horizons." She replied, maybe a bit more defensively than she would have liked. She didn't have the heart to tell him that trying to reconnect to her sister after the kidnapping was a, or still a, work in progress on her part. "And it's been argued that Beacon has released the largest amount of successful Huntsmen and Huntresses around the world, some of the very best in all of Remnant hailing from these very halls. I would like, very much to join those ranks." She gave voice to an odd thought that had occurred to her a day before. "What are you doing here, exactly?"

"This? It's not really anything special, just a few practice forms. I'm supposed to be learning how to fight with a pair of sword and how to end it before I need both swords." He grasped he blade on his back as well as the one on his waist, their razor edges glinting in the morning light as he drew them into a wide arc and replaced them in their sheathes in less time than it took her to blink. "I'm not exactly there yet, but I'm in no rush to master it. My old man should..."

"No that's not it. I should have phrased it better." She interrupted him apologetically, taking a few moments to reformulate her inquiry in a way that couldn't be misunderstood. "The question should be, why are _you _here? Last I checked you were fit to take on missions entrusted to full fledged hunters a bit less than a decade ago. What can Beacon give you that you don't already have?"

He had the decency to look embarrassed this time, a hand reaching to scratch away orange locks as amber refused to meet her celeste. "There's a lot more to being a Huntsman than combat..." Under his breath she could pick up something that vaguely sounded something like 'I can't believe I said that' before pausing to recollect his thoughts. "I'm not arrogant or stupid enough to think I know all there is to know about being a Huntsman. Plus... my mother thought it best I go to a place with people my age."

She raised an aristocratic eyebrow at that particular comment. She could vaguely remember him talking fondly about his family, though she never had the pleasure of asking him more about his parents. Maybe that would have helped, though not likely considering how trying to reconcile with her elder sister went or rather, was still going. She had to crush that train of thought before it left the station, it would not do any good for that can of worms to be opened so suddenly.

The more immediate conundrum was the mystery of how he seemed to know the Champion of Mistral. "Pyrrha not enough for you?"

He made an expression of mock distaste before shaking his head. "Pyrrha, isn't exactly the... easiest person to learn with. As rare as training with her is, those were never the best of sessions."

"You can't keep up?" She graced him with a teasing smirk.

"Hardly," He scoffed, his usual scowl returning with a touch of annoyance "She just never gives up trying to beat me."

That she could believe. No matter how skilled Pyrrha was, there was always a gap between natural talent and hard work. She couldn't imagine a Pyrrha as a child trying to match Ichigo when he could easily dispatch a trained White Fang unit when he was barely in his first decade, maybe even younger. He would only grow, and she would be lucky if the gap between them stayed constant instead of growing into a chasm so vast she wouldn't even to catch sight of the boy's back.

A back she could distinctly remember falling asleep on halfway on their journey home. She suddenly looked away, fighting down the rising heat before clearing her throat. "Ahem... I never had the chance to thank you... for everything. You really saved me back then, I heard that things would have been quite worse if you didn't come when you did."

"I was never good at all the politics you... people get yourselves involved with so as far as I saw it, a little girl needed help." He looked towards the sun, already fully free from the horizon They still had a few more minutes before the earliest of classes started. "You alright? I didn't think you were the type to take a morning walk so soon after a big fight. Something wrong with... I don't know, your bed or something?"

Of course he had to be extremely observant when it came to those things. "I could say the same to you, taking swordsmanship so early in the morning after surviving a Dust mine that somehow managed to stay dormant since the Great War." She used an easy deflection, though there was some curiosity regarding a weapon her father's company was famous for back when warfare was the family business. "Those things were supposed to level landscapes you know? If that were me, I would be training my Aura if training at all."

"...wasn't... mine's... explosion..."

"I beg your pardon, could you repeat that?"

"Nothing, it just wasn't expected that the mine's Dust would still be active enough to cause an explosion." He said in an suspicious monotone, shaking his head slightly as if ridding himself of unwanted thoughts. He was hiding something, or rather, failed to mention the entirety of the issue though she wouldn't pry. Experiencing an explosion of that magnitude must have been terrifying. She wasn't in the best of moods when her leader detonated a Dust cloud right in their faces.

She didn't want to imagine being in the center of an explosion several orders of magnitude above that.

"I don't like letting something like that drag be down either." He stepped into another stance, graciously allowing her to watch before he drew the blade on his waist with a fluid, continuous motion, the sound of the naked blade dividing air didn't even reach her ears. "It happened, but I don't really think something like that would happen again. Not in one of the Academy Training Halls at least. Don't think the school could survive something like that, not to mention some weaker students."

When the blade in his left ceased it's motion, the boy reached behind him, swinging the blade that seemed to spring forth from its sheath in an slow arc, perfectly executing the downward cut right after the horizontal before holding the stance. "How was the Nevermore by the way? It was supposed to be the most dangerous thing in the forest during the initiation." Even as he spoke, his movements were not dulled in the slightest, his blades entering another series of cuts and slashes even as he conversed with her. It was as if he wasn't thinking anymore, and his body either by muscle memory or pure instinct, was guiding the blades on it's own.

It was hypnotic in a way, more of a subtle distraction rather than a full frontal assault. His first routine was open to her, a storm of blades slowed so much so that the untrained eye could appreciate its deadly grace as well as its expert precision. It was a storm of blows sure to weather any solid defense given that it would be executed with enough strength and speed. She was sure that if he was to use that routine in battle, at the speed of his latest performance, it wouldn't take a minute.

This form was somewhat different, like the blades around him weren't bent on cutting but rather simply moving in a manner a river does around boulders that rolled from its banks. It shifted around, focusing more on subtle deflection rather than outright striking the opponent. If anything, it resembled the endless ensemble of parries her sister would use, assuming she found it in her best interest to battle in front of her.

Enough of that, she was asked about the final battle they had, it would be rude if she delayed her reply more than she already had.

The Nevermore, a large avian Grimm they had slain just before the end of the initiation. The plan was quite ingenious... for a child that is. They wouldn't have had to deal with something like that, having to confront the Nevermore while Juniper took down the Deathstalker, if they had just attacked the massive insect while she had it immobilized. It would have been much simpler to concentrate fire on the insect and wait for the airborne Grimm on an open plain rather than confront it on the mountain side where they had limited mobility considering the terrain. If she had it her way then, both would have been dealt then and there, at the clearing adjacent to the temple.

The only reason why she allowed Ruby to take over was because she wanted to see what her supposed teammate was capable of.

And while she wasn't exactly impressed, at least she wasn't disappointed.

It still didn't warrant her being leader though.

Ruby's plan or not, the girl in the red hood was simply the coup de grace of the entire operation with herself being the power behind the assault. They could have done without Yang's momentary distraction had she took on a more active roll. They could have done without Blake's own weapon had she decided that they would make the Grimm approach them, like it did in response to their useless ranged bombardment. They could have done without Ruby's own scythe if they were fighting on more stable ground, like the large clearing just beside the Temple of relics.

After all was said and done, she alone was sufficient to take down the beast had circumstances allowed.

"A good fight, but not as impressive as I had hoped." She replied honestly, no trace of hesitation, false modesty, or arrogance in her voice. She was telling the objective truth after all. "Had the battlegrounds been different, I could have felled it alone."

"The biggest things aren't exactly the hardest to take advantage off. Clean up would be annoying as hell if they didn't just disappear after you killed them." The orange haired boy readily agreed, as if speaking from experience. "Reminds me of something like it I had to fight once, Kaiser is one hell of a task master sometimes. Thank goodness it wasn't a full grown Goliath, or even worse; a Tyrant."

"Ah, you are familiar with Professor Bostov, aren't you?" She didn't need a reply from him, the man in question was the one assigned to ensure her rescue all those years ago. It was only natural that they were familiar enough to refer to each other in such a casual manner. The way he seemed to struggle in keeping a straight face was somewhat distracting, but as no evidence was visible aside from his lips twitching upwards, she let it slide. "Did you manage to get into his classes?"

His... complicated history with her family aside, she heard about him through rumor enough to know that he was a decent teacher and a great Huntsman besides. He would be teaching a few minor classes more combat oriented in nature and aid Professor Goodwitch in the General Combat Class all first years were required to take. It's not as if she wanted to know if she was sharing classes with him, and she was most definitely not looking forward to catching up with him or anything...

... though she wouldn't be complaining if that was the case.

"Classes?" He withdrew in thought for a moment before snapping his fingers, though the crisp click of fingers was more for his benefit than hers. "Yeah, I managed to get into one of the earlier ones. I think his is right after Basic Grimm Studies, which is..." His eyes flashed towards the heavens, as if he could actually gauge the time accurately with the movement of the sun alone. "...In less than half an hour. Sorry Weiss, gotta get ready in a bit."

"I see, till next time then." She graced with with a polite smile and a small nod, she couldn't exactly showcase the fact that she was excited to finally be able to study so close to someone who could, supposedly, rival a fully trained Huntsman at less than a third of the average graduating age. "I should be getting back as well. Who knows, maybe we have a few classes together."

He returned the gesture before quickly sheathing his swords, and breaking into a brisk jog towards the dormitory entrance. He must have been going faster than she though since one moment he was bounding towards the doors, the next thing she knew he wasn't anywhere sight. He had a talent for disappearing, though even back then he had displayed a level of speed that could rival her -ugh- teammate.

But back then he was about eight.

"Maybe those fools are awake now." She mussed in a moment of resigned acceptance., struggling to drag her feet towards their shared dorm room, where her teammates would be waiting.

Goodness, she couldn't wait for classes to start.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

By whatever Heavenly Baker/Blacksmith that dwelt was in the sky and blessed the world with cookies/weapons, Ruby couldn't wait for classes to end, though too bad for her, she wasn't even into the first five minutes of her first class.

When they finally did end, she could start trying to get back on Weiss' good side... hopefully.

For some reason, her aristocratic teammate had been fuming all morning, and it wasn't just because of the bunk beds.

It would be best to start from the beginning.

Ruby personally thought that she was the first one to wake up, the early bird gets the worm after all, in the case of their household, the first riser would have free reign -cookie raids- for a few hours. Yang would never know what happened to the sweets, or probably she did and just left them there like a good older sister. Back to the story, she woke up and of course, as team leader, she needed to get the team started on the essentials for the day. She was going to be the best leader ever, so she had to prepare something for her teammates that was both fun, constructive, and sensible to do right after they wake from slumber.

The first thing on the agenda was... Decorating the room!

It was a no brainier after they all but crashed when they entered the room. Maybe staying up to meet some other teams, particularly the fresh and definitely diverse Juniper together with the enigmatic

But there was a problem.

Weiss wasn't there.

The white haired girl who was clumsy enough to wander into her during their initiation, as air headed as she could be sometimes, was frightening when she was focused. Sure, when all she was doing was complaining, she was as harmless as an ornery cat, even she would admit it was a bit cute, in an immature, blind, and weird ironic way, but when she focused... When she focused that was another story altogether. She was _scary_ if she could be bothered, and not in the 'Yang was going to tell Dad' scary, it was the 'Uncle Qrow was taking off the kid gloves and fighting with his _Awesome Scythe_' scary.

Ruby would admit that most, if not the entire plan of taking down the Nevermore was hinged on her partner. Yang was a distraction, because there was no room to land if ever the overgrown cockatoo destroyed the bridge, _again. _Blake had the ribbon, but it didn't, couldn't, really do much without the glyph behind it, adding a bit of extra 'oomph' everyone needed. She was the one sent up there to kill the thing, but if she fell off the wall after landing, then nothing would have happened.

If anything the bird would be stunned, and she would be falling, _again, _but this time into a ravine with rocks and possibly no Jaune to break her fall. That would hurt, a lot, and she was more than willing to avoid hurtling to her doom from a cliff after a battle with Grimm, kinda in the exact... way... _she_...

Enough of depressing thoughts, there was a problem she needed to deal with.

Anyway, that being said, she would rather stay on Weiss' good side from now on.

So, she came up with the ideal to totally leave her stuff alone, Weiss made it perfectly clear Ruby couldn't even _look_ at her Dust reserves, and start decorating the room. It turned out quite well, plus the lack of a perpetually high strung heiress was exactly what they needed to talk to, or interrogate if one was observing from the outside perspective, their other roommate: Blake Belladonna.

It turned out that her initial assessment of the girl was spot on, the girl was as cool as they came. She was so cool that, for some reason, no matter what Yang tried to do to get her to... well do anything was met with nothing but a polite smile, a glimmering eye, and a pointed rebuttal. It was such a shock to her sister that she had to bring out puns... which really bothered everybody except for the equally mysterious boy who managed to keep up with her.

Must be a blonde thing, that would explain her dad too at least.

Bonding with Blake was fun, like talking to the older sister she never had. She loved her dearest Yang more than all the cookies in the world, truly she did, but for once she was able to talk to a person older than her who didn't see her as a cookie eating, weapon obsessed, child. Granted she was exactly that, it was nice to have someone _not_ bring it up every few lines of conversation. Plus, Blake loved to read, whereas Yang would always favor the more... fluffy texts girls her age were supposed to be into. For some reason, the elder blonde kept those particular books under lock and key, not exactly necessary when her father explicitly told her to stay away from Yang's choice of literature.

She liked action and mystery a bit too much to fall into the temptation of romance.

On the subject of books, and Blake's addiction to them that rivaled her own penchant for excessive cookie eating, that became their next problem.

She didn't know a lot of things, from the types of books Yang read -she swore she did read in her spare time- for fun, to what exactly possessed their father to do... whatever he did to Zwei, but as of now the mystery she was trying and failing to solve was how Blake fitted a veritable library in her bag. Seriously, the red hooded girl could only spy two or three pieces of luggage that belonged to the girl with the black bow and next thing she knew, most of the walls had shelves, the real kind and not just planks nailed to the wall kind, and were filled from end to end with tomes of every genre. Blake, somehow, turned their room into a mini library, all with just three bags, and that wasn't even counting the other things she manged to fit in those bottomless vaults.

As cool as that was, she was wondering if she could convince Blake to teach them her packing skills, that led to the problem of floor space. All of the minor changes they made involve the walls, and though they didn't bring anything that directly took up room in the... um... room, they couldn't exactly keep their beds stuck to the walls, and to each other. She didn't know about Yang, but she wasn't the neatest sleeper... or the soundest... or the quietest...

You know what, lets's just say she was very _mobile_ when she slept and leave it at that.

So she brought up something she had wanted since before Yang had stopped sleeping in the same room with her: Bunk beds.

Long story short, they made it happen and in her very valid opinion, it was awesome.

Weiss didn't seem to agree though.

Thank goodness they didn't have time to argue, their first class being somewhere in the middle of campus when they had just five minutes to get there.

And that was how Ruby got into class, where since the beginning all she did what came naturally to a young, talented, woman did when she finally got into the class of her dreams; she let her mind wander. Oh, this was a skill she had perfected since the dawn of her secondary education, and though it was cut short by the promise of her dream being fulfilled, like a plethora of other useless skills, she continued refining her technique. The gleam in her eye was between interested and mischievous, her silver irises dilated focused enough that any less skilled would have assumed her attention was solely on the papers that lay before her but clouded that if one looked closely one would find the glaze of innocent reverie.

Strawberry scented locks, Yang insisted she start taking care of her hair at an early age, was caught between a dainty palm and her slightly puffed cheek as she trained, mastering the art of the tightrope; keeping perfect balance between what was the optimum state of consciousness and the temptation of falling into the arms of the mistress called slumber. Her breathing was impeccable, slow enough to be mistaken for true quiescence as her form kept perfect stillness, a stark contrast to her usually hyperactive and dynamic state of being.

Make no mistake, her mind was bustling with activity, everything from the quarrel in the bedroom to any and all actions she could take in an attempt to appease her irate partner being processed simultaneously as she feigned idleness. While the rest of the room, Weiss, prepared for the lesson or some other, she was planning, plotting, and scheming, carefully preparing a plan that would, at best case scenario, send her partner flying into her arms singing praises of how _awesome_ she was.

Or something of a similar nature, though to be perfectly honest, a smile and a pat on the back was cool too.

_Though how to actually go about cheering her up..._

Maybe a certain someone from her team could be of help, that would make everything way easier for her.

Her beloved sister Yang for her part looked somewhat prepared... though that was if Ruby took to judging the looks department. She always found her sister pretty, it was somewhat of a little sibling kind of thing one of her friends back at Signal -she hoped they were doing well- told her. The blonde beauty even made the strange uniforms they were forced to wear look good, but then again, it probably had to do with how ungodly long it took her to finish up 'powdering her nose' so to speak. She brought a notebook and a pencil, sure, but she didn't look like she would use them especially after the Professor gave her a... really she didn't know what to call it.

A flinty look?

Anyway, to the more important note, Yang didn't exactly get along with Weiss, and while her sister would easily be the first one she would run to whenever she was in trouble, Ruby wisely thought that maybe that wasn't the best of options in this case. They seemed to be getting a bit closer though, seeing as Yang managed to sit beside Weiss for all of eight minutes without provoking the already incensed heiress. She wasn't exactly sure if her sister would be much help all the same, therefore she did what her uncle Qrow had taught her to do in these situations; dump all the work on... she meant finding other options.

The more obvious choices for sister substitutes would be people who looked like they knew the heiress, meaning Pyrrha and Ichigo.

The Invincible Girl seemed to be in top form as always, actually listening to the teacher no matter how undeniably boring he was being with his little personal story. She learned how to filter out any and every useless piece of information and even still, she couldn't find anything important enough to actually didn't seem to agree though, as every so often she would find the older girl deftly putting on papers something the Professor must have said, or at least implied during his boring lecture. She didn't know if Pyrrha was the type to take school stuff seriously, but she didn't want to take a chance getting her new friend angry at her.

Maybe after class she could get her autograph...

Next up, Ichigo... was the perfect opposite of Pyrrha beside him. He was awake and doing a better job at looking awake than she was, she'd give him that, but even she _knew _he was not paying attention. His slouched against his chair, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the professor with nothing but empty eyes. He didn't even have anything before him, and the expression on his face screamed he didn't want to be there that morning listening to whatever Professor Port was saying. He wasn't entirely idle though, since by some miracle, he managed to catch her gaze, sharp amber sending electricity down her spine even if she only saw them through the reflective surface of her scroll.

She spied him raise his eyebrow curiously before closing her scroll and quickly replacing it under the desk. She hoped that Yang wouldn't look that way any time soon, it would be hard to explain her state of distress to her devious elder sister.

She fought down the worst of her fears, maybe she should stay after class to explain why exactly she was looking at the older pair through her scroll before asking them to help out with Weiss.

Great, the first class hadn't even ended yet and she had another potential problem on her hands. Ugh, all this stress was getting to her head, she needed a quick distraction to soothe away her quickly growing agitation before someone calls her out on it. It was lucky she had a blank piece of paper, a sharp pencil and a... um... willing subject right before her eyes. So Ruby Rose did what came naturally to any child her age caught between a boring teacher and social problems; she began doodling.

And just in time too, the girl beside her, drawn in by the sudden arrival of lead etching itself on paper, sent her work a cursory glance Weiss seemed curious, not enough to warrant excitement but she would take what she could get. Maybe a humorous sketch would _draw_ laughter from the girl and if she got this _on point,_ then her teammate would forget all about... well whatever was bothering her. As team leader, and her teammate for another four years, she should probably ask her directly once she was more willing to talk, that would always be the best way to get this bad situation out of her _hair..._

She should really spend less time hanging around with Yang.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Brennan never thought that an academic institution as prestigious as Beacon could have such incompetent instructors.

It wasn't as if they were unqualified, its just the way the one before him taught was arguably more appalling then the methods of the 'humble' shopkeeper.

Brennan himself could vouch for the ex-captain's level of efficiency, he had to battle Zangetsu for hours before finally suppressing him enough to allow Ichigo into his inner world without hide or hair of the Hollow. As bad as Urahara was as a teacher, his methods promised results and if ever he recognized that he was not capable of teaching a certain skill, he referred them to equally effective instructors. Of course all those lessons were only useful as long as the student survived, but in the span of two years, they turned Ichigo into a being as powerful as one orders of magnitude older than he was.

Literally.

This, compared to the hell they endured was like a walk in the park; hilariously easy but all in all, an utter waste of time.

Bright azure eyes focused on the weapon mounted above the boards containing the professor's notes, then on the professor himself, all the while the deep-set frown on his face remaining unchanged.

Professor Peter Port was a stout man, dressed in what appeared to be attire more fit for equestrians rather than Huntsmen, or more aptly put, people who hunted Grimm instead of game. It appeared to be cavalry uniform of some sort, something that gained inspiration from the uniforms during the old war if he was not mistaken, though it lacked the shoulder ornaments and medals that adorned the attire of any respectable officer. On the information they received from Kaiser, the man meant well and that he took up teaching to sincerely help the younger generation achieve greatness. He was a very open man, one not for beating around the bush or pulling punches, verbal or otherwise, a man well respected by peers and students alike for his disposition as well as skill on the battlefield... maybe in the classroom as well.

In the eyes of the Quincy Emperor, man was a joke, just from a look at his weapon.

Much like a Shinigami's Zampakuto, a Quincy's Vollständig, and a Hollow's Resurrección, the weapons of each Huntsman and Huntress supposedly spoke much about them, from their fighting style to general disposition.

Ruby was, a as a whole, uncontrollable energy and immense speed tempered with impeccable control she rarely revealed; it admittedly took more than a day with the little bundle of energy for him to see how she tried to constantly keep herself centered. In contrast Blake was subterfuge, one with enough hold over herself that at times it was like she could easily erase who she was a few moments ago in favor of a persona more apt for the given situation. Pyrrha was all business and quite well rounded, more inclined to find a path of least resistance as well as never bend or break under pressure. Ren was even more flexible, flowing like a calm stream around any and all obstacles, mostly Nora he could assume.

What the old name of the professor's weapon was a a testament to it's failure, a blunder, a mistake, something that should never have been made.

It was either that, or even the most unassuming professor in the school was a manipulator at his own level, such a weapon constructed in stupidity was able to propel the old man far enough that he was now a professor at the source of arguably the best Hunters in the world. It was one or the other really, either some of the teachers were just _that _bad, or even the worst of them were slightly better, more cunning, or slightly worse, more devious, than even he was.

And the idiot/master manipulator was just about to reveal what exactly the entire story was for too, perfect. "The moral of this story?" He paused before the class, his gaze shifting from student to student as if he was still searching for the answer himself. He held the gaze of the professor for a moment, azure glowing in challenge against the visage of an elderly silver snake, almost daring the older man to answer his own question. If the older man sensed his intent, he wasn't the least bit troubled by the sudden glare,as he easily continued addressing the class with a new air of purpose.

"A true Huntsman must be honorable." Only a fool would call survival instinct, something even the lowliest of Hollows had, honor. He protected himself and his village, by extension the people in it, form the beast by necessity instead of chivalry. There was no true honor in defending one's home, especially when one simply could not survive without it.

"A true Huntsman must be dependable." A child who still took advice from a cabbage salesman of all things was dependable now it seemed. Really, he didn't know whether to look at such an event with indignant disbelief of sincere pity. It was a sad day in the world when the only one 'dependable' enough to defeat a monster was a child.

"A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated, and wise." Taking the beast away from the village is commonsense,while bringing the beast back in captivity was just plain stupidity. His story of fighting the beast was more like a tale of Zangetsu when he was still able to go 'playing', his victory being an endeavor that hinged very much on sheer dumb luck rather than the magnitude of his combat prowess. Finally, Ichigo's own station aside, a child from a village was not the definition of well educated, definitely not by a long shot. The simple and short of it was the professor himself failed to meet the criteria he set for a true Huntsman.

This was the type of person Brennan would dissolve into energy just because they annoyed him.

That is, if he didn't see the underlying message of the professor's tall tale. Of course It would be too much to ask if anyone else deciphered the old man's intent, given how a bit less than half of the class was asleep, that included Zangetsu and Jaune, while the other half seemed to have found other more fascinating ways to pass the time, which included Narius, Nora, and the illustrious leader of team Ruby. The methods the stout Huntsman used were disgusting, not exactly suited to cater to young adults and their increasingly shortening attention spans, but what he did keep underneath the underneath was worth cracking the incredibly boring code.

Assuming anyone else would be willing to look for the true lesson in the first place.

If he understood the intent of the professor correctly, no way in Hell would he 'open his eyes' for something as trivial as a school lesson, Port himself acknowledged his own lack of those traits at the time the story took place. The students in the room would be represented by the image of a younger version of himself, capable of fighting back the Grimm yet not exactly up to par to a true Huntsman just yet. Therein lay the need for education. The boring story, as ineffective as it would be due to the fact that is was horribly uninspiring, was to draw parallels between himself and the students. At the end of the tale, it was supposed to show them that despite everything they've been through and everything they've accomplished, they had yet to pass the standards of a true Huntsman.

When he would ask, for he would certainly ask, if they any of them believed to be True Huntsmen or True Huntresses, no one should reply with the affirmative. Not because they would be too shy or too abashed to say so, but because they themselves acknowledge that they have yet to reach that point and have simply started on the path to greatness. This whole class, at least on that day, was not for the benefit of the students, but of the professor for he wasn't teaching anything just yet.

He was simply observing their reactions.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" He bellowed to the class with an air of incitement, just as Brennan predicted, eyes hidden from them scanning the room with the swiftness and blase of a passing glance that belied the meticulous care of an experienced warrior. Not one hour into the school year and he was already searching for those who would fail to meet his expectations. This much was to be expected from those who trained be best Hunters.

Not one hour into the school year and they just had their first test.

Now, which idiot would be first to take the bait?

No one had enough hubris to claim to be a true Hunter so soon after being enrolled into Beacon, right?

"I do sir." Weiss, in barely bridled anger, allowed her hand to shoot up not a moment after the professor finished giving voice to his query, what was usually calm celeste smoldering with the will to... for lack of better terms, kill something.

_Me dammit!_

Of course what comes next would have to be a sound beating at best, a painful scene showcasing the humiliation of the heiress at the very worst. His inability to actually bring significance of his story to light aside, the professor was giving what was supposed to be a lesson of inadequacy, a cold wake up call to all those who thought that as they were, they were enough to take on the world as one of the defenders of the world. If a student refused to acknowledge that, then reason dictated that what would come next would be Weiss being taken down a peg or two.

Most likely in a fight... _Ah so that was what that cage was for._

"Well, then, let's find out!" The professor, looking a bit too pleased with himself, called out before gesturing towards a box that had been strangely silent since the beginning of the class.

Without warning, it shook.

The prison itself was not exactly large by human standards, being just as large as he professor was tall and a bit longer besides, but what seemed to be the strangest thing about it was its lack of noise. Just then, when the professor sent it a glance, most if not the entire class snapped back in attention, all eyes glued to the metal box that made no noise till then. Brennan himself had some assumptions, and for the most part he thought it was a display. An empty box, just a show piece to spice up the class; a simple prop. Now? No one could misinterpret the implications of the what had occurred before them; there was a live Grimm in that box.

The box that had stayed silent throughout the entire class just jumped a full couple inches from the ground.

And that was the part that made no sense.

Grimm were unnatural creatures to the extreme. All records showed that they neither ate nor slept; they simply lived to fight and when confronted by any predator greater than they were, fought to live. They were tireless creatures driven by the need to kill, and for some strange reason they actively, exclusively, chased after humans. Their senses were wired in a strange manner, sharper than any of their counterparts in the animal kingdom, and though that was impressive in and of itself, what was truly mysterious about them was the way the managed to sense what people were calling 'negativity'.

In their personal experience as they traveled what was called Mistral, Brennan observed that whenever a rare occasion that Grimm would surprise them arose, the seemed to always tent to strike either Narius or Zangetsu first. The latter was understandable, since Hollows were creatures formed from despair itself, and though the former was somewhat troubling, he kept suspicious about the unknown to himself. On detection, Grimm seemed to be able to 'feel negativity' within a certain radius depending on the source of this 'negativity'. This also seemed to be completely unrelated to reiatsu since, even while under the veil of Kyokkō, Zangetsu was still detected when he entered a certain distance from the monsters.

So the problem was still the cage, and the sounds that _didn't _come out. They were sure what was in there. It did, in fact, know that they were out there.

Then why did it take so long for it to react?

His suspicions would have to be left alone for the most part, for as soon as the professor gained the class' undivided attention, he continued to speak. "Step forward, and face your opponent." The stout man commanded, wearing the air of a general rather than a professor as he _jumped_ up to retrieve his weapon. Of course he didn't seem to care that it was mounted on the wall far above the large schematics detailing the anatomical features of the Grimm.

His impressive display of agility aside, the students, Brennan included, found themselves more surprised when he walked behind the box and took hold of it by a handle located at the back. He then proceeded to _drag _the enclosure to the other end of the room with all the effort one would display when walking down the sidewalk on a warm afternoon. That settled it, Professor Port was a frighteningly skilled manipulator and very real threat on the battlefield.

Maybe they would have to pay a little more attention from then on.

But first...

_Now, how is the little princess going to get herself out of this one._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Narius would admit that he enjoyed watching these kinds of events play out.

Weiss just had it coming. The girl was a time bomb just waiting to go off, and when she goes off everything around her just... well just look what happened on the very first day. It was clear that she would be giving into her rage at some point. From the looks of it, it could range from something as bad as a harsh berating at best. Of course, as a Huntress in training, it could easily escalate into an all out duel, but then again she was supposed to be more composed than that. Right?

He was pleasantly surprised when the little girl couldn't reign in her rage as well as he though he did. Now, she was about to pay the price for making a decision under the influence of anger.

It would be quite a show if he did say so himself.

No, he didn't particularly dislike Weiss for being who she was, as much of a stuck up, spoiled, rich brat she could be, it was just that he enjoyed a good conflict too much. That was part of the reason he obsessively got on the nerves of his teammates, and even the others around him. He never let Ichigo forget that he was undergoing puberty _a second time._ Zangetsu and Brennan would still stress about what his true identity was on occasion. Yang, if this morning said anything, had not yet let go of the fact he was better with the tongue than she was. With a hint from Brennan, he had already uncovered Blake's stash of... questionable playthings and articles of literature. Kaiser and Nozomi... well let's just say he would never be woken up in the early hours because the two didn't decide to invest in sound proofing. He never tried to get a rise out of Aki though.

That was just stupid.

Anyway, the fight before him would be even more entertaining for two reasons.

The first would be that the girl, in the interest of keeping the classroom intact, was only allowed to use her rapier and her Aura. The use of Dust was prohibited.

As of that day, all the teachers have been given copies of the recordings taken during the initiation, which meant that any who viewed them would have an inkling as to what each student could and could not do. According to the videos, -they had managed to view them after 'convincing' Kaiser to grant them access- Weiss was by far the most destructive. She often used her large reserves of Dust to command the wrath of Mother Nature herself, causing wide area damage whenever she utilized more than her sword and skills. Without a doubt, the classroom would not be able to handle the elemental assault she had at her beck and call.

The second wasn't actually a certainty, allowing him to let that thought flow to the back of his mind for the moment.

And just in time too, as each actor in the elaborate drama had taken their places.

The Professor, proud and strong with weapon in hand, stood proudly before a trembling cage as eyes looked to his student with the glimmer of expectation.

The Princess herself stood as straight as her sword was, entering her relaxed stance as she brandished her blade with practiced ease of one who knew the steel from the forge to the sheath.

The Monster was hidden from view, though the prison that held it rattled with the rage of the beast, each movement, each guttural cry a demand for freedom and blood.

"Go Weiss!" The bitter, of course not at the moment, blonde cheered for her team mate from her seat with an enthusiastic fist pump.

"Fight well!" The perverted pussycat somehow pulled a flag with their team name in the cloth and began waving it in a gesture of support.

"Yeah, represent team Ruby!" The rambunctious reaper threw both fists in the air as she rooted for her partner, her grin stretching from ear to ear positively glowing with delight.

Her team was supporting her, that much was expected. What was not was her reaction.

"Ruby! I'm trying to focus!" The more hostile side of the heiress made itself known as she chided her team leader for no good reason. Narius, and presumably the rest of the class, could see that she only singled out her leader, much to the confusion of all present. It made no sense that the normally cool and collected Weiss would explode at a little girl, though the class would probably conclude that she was just nervous.

No one was aware of how long she was fuming at the girl anyway.

"Oh, um... Sorry..." Ever the meek little girl, Ruby sheepishly apologized, definitely not missing the fact that she was the only one called out.

Oh joy, he could see it in her silvery eyes. She didn't even know why the Weiss was angry at her. Confusion by the score, slivers of betrayal, a tinge of guilt, and a hint of sorrow, everything was visible on her face as Ruby turned away. She was no doubt taking a few moments to ponder the reason for her teammate's unjustified anger. She must have thought that there was nothing she had done between the moment they 'made up', he saw the videos, and that morning.

Her eyes widened just a bit as an epiphany struck her, perhaps there was something, before she shook her head to dispel whatever conclusion she had arrived at. She was grasping at straws, trying her hardest to figure out the reason why her teammate seemed so hostile again. Of course, she would never know that is was for being the leader. Ruby herself didn't seem to see the sheer weight of her station or the value her teammate placed into the position.

Miscommunication was always the source of conflict in this day and age.

They didn't have too much time to think about it, as the professor's voice soon cleared the room of needless chatter. "Alright." He raised his weapon, the blade of the battleaxe shining as the venomously sharp edge reflected the light that struck the steel. "Let the match... Begin!"

The blade easily cut through steel, not just cutting the lock like a knife through butter but tearing out a portion of the cage door itself as the heavy metal plate fell. With what kept it inside crashing on the classroom floor, the Grimm was revealed to the class: a heavy Boarbatusk old enough to sport several markings on it's bone white mask. It took a moment to glare at its opponent with two pairs of dark vermilion eyes before it snarled in defiance...

And then it charged with the intent to kill.

It's legs, short and stubby and yet hooved and muscular, carried it with the speed a predator had to posses to hunt game and all the grace of a hurtling tank as it began closing the distance between it and it's prey. Narius barely had the patience to stifle a groan as the child seemed to think that the best course of action was to spin as the space between them quickly decreased. Like an amateur matador facing a raging bull, she executed an unnecessarily combat role and struck true, hacking at the monsters flank with all she had. Those close enough to see were blinded by the white flashes caused by the girl's Aura trying, and subsequently failing, to pierce monstrous armor toughened by ages past.

For all the girl's bravado the result was less than spectacular; the heiress standing with her weapon at the ready as the monster bounded past her without any trace of injury.

Really, the girl must have been more shaken up that he thought when she used a weapon meant to be the pinnacle of melee precision was swung in an arc meant for something more akin to the piece of metal Zangetsu once wielded. A quick thrust to the eye, maybe as she was being powered by those strange glyphs, would have ended the clash and killed the beast. It was clear that she was not used to fighting such an armored opponent, a fact the monster fully took advantage off.

Proof of that was when it trotted about, _trotted_ of all things without a shred of regard for the girl, before rounding back and coming to a halt at the the other end of the classroom. All four eyes glared at the girl, the beast dragging heavy hooves on what he thought was tile as trails of steam flowed out of it's nostrils. The girl had her sword arm pulled back, her knees bent in preparation for another charge while her free hand was held aloft before her, no doubt ready to unleash the power of nature had it been allowed. As of the moment, she could call upon her semblance as well, though the determined look in her eyes told him she was more than likely to rely on her blade than anything else.

The professor didn't seem to think anything of her being unable to end the Grimm in one stroke. If anything, he was more amused than anything else. "Weren't expecting that, were you?"

The girl wouldn't snap at the professor. She wasn't that stupid. Though the look in her eyes, the rage burning behind twin orbs of celeste, promised death to the creature before her. Whatever anger she had was poured onto the monster as she focused her entire being into the task of dispatching it. He could almost swear that she had the same expression Brennan he had enough of the Hollow's and his own antics, when the Quincy King would remind them why Soul Society quaked in fear at the passing mention of his name. If looks could kill, that thing would have been paste on the floor, slowly dissipating to what would become dust in the wind.

"Hang in there Weiss." Ruby, the sweet little girl, didn't exactly realize she was adding fuel to the fire.

The strange thing was, the Grimm seemed to be reacting.

It seemed drawn to her, all four eyes on the heiress as she glared daggers at the monster, almost daring it to charge again. He supposed that he was among the few in the room, those also on the first row, that could see how the Grimm reacted towards the sheer amount of hate the girl was excluding. Bristles no less tough than the armor that coated the monster's leathery hide stood on end as its vermilion eyes glowed with the feral hunger of a predator before prey. It's cloven feet banged against the reinforced floor as it growled menacingly, baring rows of sharp teeth and shaking its massive tusks at the huntress in training.

What the 'negativity' did to the creature was fascinating. As blood was to a shark, it seemed to agitate it but not in a way that it would strike without regard. It seemed to focus on the source of that emotion, zeroing in to whatever had the most 'negativity' in a certain area. That certainly would explain why the seemed to like going after Zangetsu and himself in the wild, being what made people 'human' never was just sunshine and rainbows.

Though in the situation before him, hate and anger wasn't the greatest approach; she needed the sharpest blade she could get against an armored foe, not blunt steel to prolong suffering. Enough anger tended to dull the blade, and the heiress, for all the skill she might have accumulated, was no different.

She was the one who charged first this time, the faint glow of her glyphs emanating from the floor before she was propelled forward at speeds that almost rendered her unseen to the untrained eye. There was no untrained eye in the room, all being able to bear witness to her mad dash at the Grimm, her rapier point threatening to skewer the Grimm as it began a charge of its own. The Boarbatusk seemed to see through her as well, as by some miracle, it tilted its head just as the blade entered the range of its tusks, and snapped back.

Her form contorted as the quick change in direction racked her body, almost flinging her down the classroom had she not held on for dear life. She landed clumsily on her feet, the strange boots she wore not exactly the best for traction, forcing her to scramble for better footing as the beast refused to give her any quarter. Only when her rapier lay ensnared between the beast's massive tusks did she realize her mistake, and did all come to know that the Grimm possessed some form of intelligence.

The struggle began, Weiss clad in her Aura tugging at the handle of her weapon while the Boarbatusk yanked at its blade. Narius was pleased to note that, despite the heiress' lithe form, it was quite an even struggle. Strangely enough, it was the girl who was inching ahead, slowly but steadily gaining ground rather than giving it up.

"Bold, new approach... I like it!" Even the professor acknowledged her strength. Giving Grimm a difficult time up close and personal was something no one expected from Weiss Schnee of all people.

"Come on, Weiss, show it who's boss!" Ruby cheered excitedly for her partner, though unlike the praise of the professor and whatever noise the rest of the class continued to make, this earned a reaction from the heiress.

Narius banged his head on a notebook as he watched the girl turn to glare at the her leader.

He didn't need to look when the somewhat reduced sound of metal clanging against tile reached his ears. He didn't need anything more as confirmation to tell that the Boarbatusk must have taken advantage of the distraction to disarm the haughty heiress. What he wanted to know was just how unreasonable was she, that she thought her anger over the position of leader was enough to risk her life for.

_If that thing doesn't hurt her, I seriously will. _

He wasn't against doing stupid things during a fight. If he were asked, he would recommend it as multitasking, or at least averting his attention away from his opponent would usually annoy said opponent. Namely, that any and everyone he fought, and that annoyance would make them sloppy. Though one only had the right to do something as dangerous as that when there was no threat of injury that it wouldn't even matter anymore. He could possibly predict about a dozen of Zangetsu's moves before he makes them, and counter accordingly. He could brush off any ranged assault Brennan had as well as match the Quincy King blow for blow in hand to hand.

He _earned_ the right to ignore opponents during a fight. He would still win, or at least not lose, no matter how much attention he invested.

As such, when he saw Weiss sending a heated glare her leader's way, and subsequently loosing her weapon because of it, he couldn't help but fume just a little.

Okay, call him twisted, but he still cared for the girl, in a friend-of-a-friend sort of way. He would annoy her to hell and back since she seemed to be the easiest to bait, but he didn't want her dead. No, it wouldn't do for him to suddenly lack a person to annoy. But jokes aside, underestimating an opponent and overestimating one's self is bound to get one killed especially against the Grimm who cared for nothing more than the suffering of humanity. They didn't exactly have the closest of relationships, but she was Ichigo's friend and who knows what that boy would do if she got herself killed one day. By being a pompous, prideful princess no less.

She received a heavy blow form large curved tusks for her trouble. The goring swine landing a hit even before her weapon stopped its slide while the impact sent her hurtling through the air before crashing on the unforgiving classroom floor.

"Oh, now what will yo do without your weapon?" Narius didn't need anymore confirmation to conclude that the professor was taunting her. What else could that comment have been?

Meanwhile, beast prepared for another, final charge as the girl propped herself up on her hands and knees, like common crook before the executioner's block. From his side, he could almost taste her fear as she shook herself from her daze and turned her eyes forward, subsequently catching sight of the monster that was fast approaching. He watched with delicious anticipation as the girl didn't even second guess herself anymore, opting to throw herself to the side as the massive tusks narrowly missed her.

He could catch her rolling again in the corner of his vision as the Boarbatusk struck his desk, toppling on its side for a moment as he examined the creature a little more thoroughly.

As expected from a predator, it had teeth, more akin to something like a piranha than a lion while the strange markings etched onto its mask seemed to glow with an evil, otherworldly light. It really did have four eyes, which didn't really make sense since most predators that rely on speed only had two, and three pairs of tusks, two of which didn't seem to have any purpose. Its distribution of armor was interesting as well, some plates being above its bristled hide while other more discrete plates lay hidden under shadowy leather. He could only assume that its... limb pits? Whatever the area between the immediate limb and main body was called, was most likely undefended much like the underbelly of the creature.

On a trivial note, there were some bone-like protrusions on the back of the knee joins of the hind legs that seemed more like a locking mechanism for something...

"Weiss go for it's belly, it has no armor underneath..."

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!"

Now normally, Narius would be chuckling to himself as he watched the girls squabble like they did after their first altercation together. Then he would be tempted to berate the heiress for once more taking her eyes of the opponent that knocked her down once. He would be torn between two emotions, pleasant wry mirth and disappointed seething anger, but all that occupied his thoughts, despite the conversation happening somewhere in the room, was the Boarbatusk.

Logically, given the situation, it was commonsense to most if not all of his attention on the Grimm.

_I don't know if I should have been afraid of this, or looking forward to it._

Four vermilion eyes were poised only on him.

Two crimson fires stared back at the monster of the Abyss.

This was the second reason the fight would be entertaining; there was a possibility another would be able to participate.

Grimm, by nature, seemed to hate humanity in general, but after more careful observation, one would see that 'humanity' wasn't their main target. It was 'Negativity'. The went after what was most 'negative' or what had the highest concentration of what was essentially negative emotions. Some said that those sensitive to Aura would be able to feel this Negativity and that it was that feeling Grimm latched on to when they hunted. It was possible to reduced this Negativity by means of actual emotional suppression as well as, well as childish as it sounds, thinking happy thoughts since, supposedly, the Grimm could _smell_ Negativity from miles around if not properly dealt with.

It was probably why the Boarbatusk never thought, and it did think, of striking any other target. Weiss simply lit up like a Christmas tree. She must have appeared as a beacon of'Negativity, of sheer wrath and envy, of confusion, panic, and desperation that it simply couldn't _see_ anyone else around her. The girl was simply too delectable to pass up, so much so that everyone else in the room, although equally human, seemed insipid by comparison.

There was Narius and Zangetsu to consider, what amounted to every virtue and vice a human was capable of and Despair incarnate respectively, but both were suppressing whatever attracted the monsters. In this suppressed state, Zangetsu fantasizing about things not to be known by the sound of mind and Narius suppressing negative emotion in general, this fell energy could only be sensed once the source is in close proximity to the sensor.

Now? The Grimm was but a foot away from one of the greatest sources of Negativity in the room, if not the whole school.

Of course it would switch targets.

Not that it was the best choice for the beast, it was certainly a more entertaining one for the enigma.

It wasn't much of a surprise when the Boarbatusk made the first move, jumping into the air to...

"Sorry." Despite himself, Narius spoke with an unapologetic tone, his hand still for a moment before it rose to scratch the back of his head.

There was a flash of green and it was all over.

He doubted if any save for his three teammates perceived the movement, his own speed on another level when compared to people like Ruby.

The moment the monster jumped, he already had four of his pencils between his fingers, each one infused with enough Aura that he was surprised they didn't detonate in impact. His reiatsu was the closest equivalent the four had to Aura, energy not only used to fuel techniques but reinforce the body and even objects; something akin to Blut and Hierro put together. Just as it reached the apex of its leap, his arm flew, sending each of the four writing implements speeding towards the beast at velocities that surpassed modern muzzle velocities by orders of magnitude.

Each pencil homed in on it's target with unerring accuracy, each finding its target without fail and burying themselves into the back end of the beast skull; invisible strings of reiatsu holding each piece of stationary being the only reason they didn't fly through the Grimm and several walls behind it. If one was attentive, maybe they would perceive the green trail of light that the pencils left behind before sharpened lead embedded itself into the back end of the monster's skull, killing it instantly.

What would take Weiss a full minutes to accomplish Narius achieved in an instant.

And he didn't even stand from his seat.

The whole class looked on in awe at Narius. To them, the beast simply jumped before being thrown back against the boards containing information on the Grimm, before falling down as a lifeless heap of quickly dissolving flesh. The professor brought a monster in to test them, it was expected that the level of difficult would be above what they experienced before. That specific Grimm, hand picked by a Huntsman to _challenge them_, was dealt with in less time than it took any of them to blink.

The professor didn't know what to say, his expression quickly shifting from unbridled surprise to querying curiosity and finally stone-faced stoicism in just a few moments. He seemed truly flabbergasted by the development, that one of the students, who was supposedly just as emotionally compromised as the heiress, took down the Grimm in an instant. Of course, whatever shock that was plastered on his face disappeared just as quickly as it came. He was professional enough not to lose face before his students.

Weiss herself couldn't seem to get over the shock of having her prey taken in the time it took her to berate her leader. For people like them, for her, who quite literally took care of threats in ten seconds at most, to take that long was an insult in itself. He must have been rubbing salt in the wound to have killed the beast in one effortless move. He knew her from second-hand sources, Kasier seemed to work with the Schnee family in the past, and he knew that she trained. Hard. She wouldn't be taking this failure lightly, and as soon as the initial astonishment wears off, all she would have left would be rage.

Just another source of entertainment.

"Well, that was an interesting development." At least it was better than Yang's final statement once the Nevermore was slain. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and... stay vigilant! Class dismissed!" His gaze lingered on Narius a bit longer, a gaze Narius returned with a haughty grin, before exiting the room as well.

Weiss raised her noise with a dissatisfied snort before storming out of the classroom.

Jaune was the most eloquent in expressing his opinion on the matter, worry hiding behind deep blue eyes as they watched the heiress' form disappear through the doorway. "Sheesh, what's with her?"

"Whatever it is, I suggest you three take care of it before it spirals out of control." Brennan called the attention of three equally confused girls sitting in the front row. He sighed when the all seemed to look the the blonde bombshell for guidance on this one, and for once, Nairus agreed with the Quincy. "Maybe it's better if Ruby takes care for this."

The red reaper's eyes lit up as is struck by an epiphany. "Right, I am the leader and her partner after all. Leave it to me, I'll make everything better in a jiffy." She decreed with a healthy amount of pride and a wide grin as she all but bounded over her desk.

The little girl was the source of the entire problem after all, it would be over without much fuss if she just realized that. The way she smiled knowingly as she sped to the door was telling, she might have even gotten in right this time. Narius couldn't help but be impressed with the little girl, maybe she really was fit to be leader if she could decipher so much from one piece of random advice from the most mysterious of devious of the four.

Maybe this would actually end well for them.

"Weiss!" Her voice as it echoed the halls was that of a child whining, calling after a playmate who left a school ground game unfinished.

Or not.

* * *

**AN **

**Well, here's one half of badge and burden, after a long wait (Spent watching Volume 3). Its not a good excuse, my finals coming up would be better, but that's what I've been doing and... well... volume 3 is awesome!**

**Ship teases in this chapter, well you guys can see it =))**

**Revs: Guys, thanks for giving your opinions, mostly good, and some pointing out things I might have missed. Your support means a lot :D**

**Jig: If you managed to get this far, great :D but the plot bunnies you mentioned, at least Aki surviving would be used in a later (much later) arc. White is also used since I needed a template and couldn't for the life of me think of a good enough OC. If the story hasn't been useful in clearing stuff up, feel free to send me a PM **

**Yigg: Well, I believe I've address most of these in a conversation we had, thanks for picking this up and I hope I don't disappoint. **

**Some other things I want to talk about here, It basically is a Weiss chapter and her opinions do not reflect my own. **

**Some parts of the story are written with the perception of a certain character, therefore it would be in their personal context. In this case, just because Weiss believes something, Faunus are all evil for example, doesn't make it immediately true. **

**Her relationship with most of the characters as of this point is a cross between casual and professional at best and downright hostile at worst, but that should change after this arc. I took so long to release partly because I wanted to see how Canon Winter was, since i have some focus on their relationship dynamic as early as now.**

**Turns out she isn't as bad as Weiss is, weird right? When they do meet, as long as circumstances known only to me don't arise, she should get along fine with Ichigo.**

**I may have given Peter Port too much credit on this one, please don't hate me for that. **

**Also Narius Kill Steal. I thought it could work, since most of you guys got part of it right that he is Ichigo's hell powers(That's not _just_ it though) he is mostly negative. **

**During**** the show, I was somewhat surprised when the Boarbatusk focused only one Weiss and didn't even try to attack any one else. When the World of Remnant on Grimm came out, it hit me: She was pissed. She was probably the main thing the Grimm classified as a target, therefore she was the main priority. So I thought, what would happen if it was to sense something even worse than Weiss being an angry brat? **

**You guys know the drill, Review, favorite and follow if you like and support (not necessarily sponsor) the original media. **

**This has been Proccit**

**See Ya ;D**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Weight of a Crown and the Burden of the Badge**

* * *

Ichigo was somewhat confused by the development before him.

Weiss, as far as the two times he interacted with her showed him, wasn't exactly the easiest to get along with, but neither was she the most hostile. Based second hand information, Weiss was calm, cool, and collected when confronted with a problem that required some form of delicacy. He wasn't stupid enough to assume that she didn't have a veritable blizzard at her fingertips; she wouldn't have managed to freeze a forest fire if she didn't know how to use whatever strength that slumbered within her soul. Still, most of her combat videos showed perfect control coupled with cold efficiency rather than ardent brutality.

She wasn't the type to throwing a hissy fit simply because of a difference in ranking.

Not even Byakuya did that.

That didn't seem to matter to her though, as she stormed through the halls with the air of a queen slighted. In her wrathful haze, she didn't notice him watching from a respectful distance.

He would talk to her... eventually. Even he knew that trying to change the mind of a woman scorned wasn't exactly the smartest idea.

Maybe after she cooled down for a bit...

"Weiss!" He had to struggle to keep his hand down, striking his face with the amount of strength he intended to use would alert the irate girl to his presence. Ruby, in contrast, wanted to grab Weiss' attention, calling out to her even as she turned the corner. Her face was twisted with worry and betrayal as she closed the distance between them, even as her voice dripped with confusion, concern, and a hint of pain.

"What?" Weiss all but spat in the face of her leader, hands balled into fists as she struggled to keep her voice from filling the entire corridor.

"What's wrong with you?" Ruby cut to the heart of the issue, though she did not seem forceful in her speech or temperament. She may have been a bit too eager, though it was obvious she _cared_ about the heiress. She actually cared. For a person she met not half a week from that day. "Why are you being this-"

But anger had a way of dulling the senses and Ichigo worried that no matter how much Ruby would plead and beg, Weiss would not relent in her imagined slight, drunk on her own wrath.

"What's wrong with me?" Weiss interrupted the little girl with a soft smile, a smile that meant anything other than what her leader wanted. Her smile was dripping with malice: the expression of one who viewed herself so far above the other that she would have to purposely lower herself just so that she would be understood. "What's wrong with _you_? You're supposed to be a leader when all you've been so far is a nuisance." She shot back venomously, not even bothering to answer the child's inquiry.

"What did I do?" Ruby diverted her line questioning, doing her best to hide the slight roll of her eyes. If Weiss saw something wrong with her, she seemed to decide it would be better to correct whatever fault she had before she grilled her partner.

"That's just it! You've done nothing to earn your position!" Weiss threw and accusing finger at her leader, just a few inches away from jabbing the younger girl in the chest. "In the forest you acted like a child, and you still continue to do so!"

He wouldn't be surprised if that was the exact same face he wore when Tensa first admitted that he was not the true spirit of his sword.

Even he saw the joy that shined on her childish face when she thought she finally gained her partner's acceptance. The innocent rapture that she felt then when finally, _finally_, they had become a team and took down the Nevermore quickly became the highlight of her short stay in Beacon, and now, whatever bond she thought she had made with the heiress was quickly severed for no apparent reason. He was entitled to at least an explanation, both as her partner as well as the leader of the team.

She should have been responsible as the leader after all was said and done.

And in the end, that was the issue.

"Weiss... where is this coming from?" Ruby asked almost dejectedly as she gazed innocently into the cold eyes of her partner. "What happened to all that talk about teamwork? Working together? I thought you wanted to work together as a team?" It was strange to see the little girl acting a bit mature for her age, but even from his distance, Ichigo could make out silver eyes glistening behind a veil of tears.

Weiss herself wasn't exactly that cold either, breathing a sigh to relieve herself of whatever anger she still had. "Not a team led by you." The next words she said were ice cold. Tainted with neither pride, nor prejudice, she spoke like she was simply stating simple facts. "I've studied and trained, Ruby, for a long time. Frankly speaking, I_ know_ I deserve better." She turned around without a hint of guilt after crushing whatever defense the little girl could have possibly mustered with those words.

She couldn't even see Ruby stretching out her hand, truly trying to reach out to her before it was too late.

"Ozpin made a mistake."

And with those last words, she walked off and left the little girl an emotional mess behind her.

He'd seen the videos of what happened last time, and Ichigo could conclude that it would have been better to replay that awkward first meeting all over again, explosion and all.

It would have hurt much less.

The princess could be taken down a peg later, he would never forgive himself for leading Ruby as emotionally broken as she was. That is if he was ever given the chance to step froward of his own free will.

"Well that didn't seem to go very well. Maybe it would have gone a bit better had you intervened." The air carried the faintest smell of caffeine as the smooth voice of the Headmaster snaked its way into his ears. "Though, with that being said, I don't think eavesdropping on two young ladies as they converse would qualify as a decent pass time, Mr. Kurosaki."

He had to keep himself from calling forth a sword and cutting the elder man right then and there in his surprise. It wouldn't do to kill the Headmaster of the school on the very first day, or at all for the matter. He wasn't Zangetsu who would most likely beat anyone who managed to get on the Hollow's bad side.

He was torn though.

Not between killing Ozpin or letting him live, he chose the latter immediately after assessing and confirming that the man was not a threat. He was surprised that he was... well... surprised.

He had a very impressive resume after all, one that would be at par if not already beyond what most run-of-the-mill Hunters were capable of producing. His ability to track others alone was on the level that as long as they were in an area not surpassing what used to be Silbern, or the Royal Palace, in size, he would be able to find them. He wouldn't be bragging if he said that, as of that moment in time, he knew the exact positions, relative to him at least, of every man, woman, student or teacher, within a 200 meter radius. He was supposed to be acutely aware of everyone in the immediate area.

Everyone, that is, except the Headmaster.

Thinking about that would have to wait, looking at the man in green reminded him too much of a similarly dressed shopkeeper.

"I could say the same to you, professor." Ichigo replied without missing a beat as he turned to face Ozpin, the man himself taking a sip of coffee in a vain attempt to hide the sly smile that began to tug on his lips. "Though, I must ask: what would the others think if they hear that you were watching me watch them? Surely some thoughts should be left unturned, wouldn't you say?"

"Well played. I didn't expect that particular pair to fall apart so quickly. To be fair, they are not as tightly-knit as your own team or as accepting as Team Juniper, I had thought their little performance during the initiation was genuine." The headmaster conceded as he shared his own insights, producing another cup of coffee, which the teen opposite him declined. "Truth be told, I wouldn't consider it wise to confront Miss Schnee given her temperament. Women can be quite... hazardous at times. Now, I would believe it best we raise her spirits, it would be cruel not to do so."

Ichigo couldn't help but nod to his latter statement, the both of them making their way to the downtrodden girl.

"You alright, little red?" Ichigo was quite surprised at the speed Ruby's head whipped towards them, though her eyes seemed to keep alternating between himself and the headmaster beside him.

"Was she right?" She finally spoke, her voice pleading as she looked up at the professor with a tinge of hopelessness in her silver eyes. "Did you really make a mistake?"

Professor Ozpin paused for a moment, brown eyes alternating between the taller boy and the little girl before taking another long sip from his cup. "That really depends on your perspective on things. You being a failure? Me making a mistake? It seems to me that it's much too early to say something such as either of the two statements. Your opinion on the matter, Ichigo?"

Ichigo himself looked between Ozpin and Ruby before a sigh escaped his lips. The professor seemed to want his totally honest opinion here, and would most likely be prepared to rip it out of his mouth if the boy tried anything of the subtle sort. "No, you did exactly what you wanted to do when you assigned us to be leaders..."

"You found the worst people for the job to do it."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Tensa didn't like dealing with the Schnee Family.

The fact that they basically ran Mantle, or what was left of it, made them arrogant on an overbearing extent. It wasn't even reasonable anymore. They were stuck up nobles, in so little words, lording over the ruined kingdom like it was their divine right, and when what was left of the outside world, the darkness, struck, they demanded that they were attended to. That was how he and Kaiser managed to get the job in the first place, quite a few people more qualified Hunters declined in favor of 'more pressing' matters.

They were all smiles in front of the princess, but after the entire ordeal was over and done with, the parting words her older sister left them with were, "True Huntsmen would have accomplished this faster."

Whatever similarities they had with the Wandenreich aside, he just couldn't bring himself to like them for their attitudes towards the more common folk.

Imagine then, his confusion when he was asked to set the girl straight.

His first reaction was to follow logic: just give up trying.

She wasn't the type to listen to peers, for the sole reason that to her, there was no such thing. The world in her point of view was composed of only three things: herself, those above her, and those below. Respect those above, protect her own position, and try to avoid those below, that was how she went through her day to day life.

It was pragmatic. Admirable even, if it wasn't so wrong. It was an arrogant way of living, one that assumed that she would one day be at the top of her game, the very peak of everything and ensured that it would never come to that.

She would never be able to rise on her lonesome. If anything he wouldn't be surprised if she fell further.

But the again, Zangetsu would be too heavy handed regarding the matter, and Narius would like nothing more than to shatter the Ice Queen with a few choice words. She would never be able to grow if they were the ones to confront her on this matter. Her teammates were out of the question as well, considering how little she trusted them. She was already avoiding them, on the very first day of officially being a team together. Pyrrha, the only one she would be willing to talk to, wasn't a good choice either since it was more than likely she would be much too gentle with the princess.

Among the professors? Port? He didn't trust the man to teach properly. Sure, he had quite the profound mind to match his undeniable skill as a Huntsman, but to articulate whatever was contained in that head of his was something far beyond him. It should tell much about a teacher when half the class before him was asleep, while the other half passed the time in more creative ways. More than likely he would give sound advice, but would she take it to heart?

Truly?

He would rather bet on Zangetsu crying than that impossibility happening.

Ozpin would be a better alternative, though for some strange reason, he couldn't seem to find the man anywhere in the school. To evade the sensor specialist in their team was a feat not many could boast of, and even if it was to be expected from the faculty of Beacon, he didn't find comfort in trusting any one he couldn't find when the situation called for it. True, Tensa was the most cynical of them, Zangetsu trusted some and doubted others on instinct while Narius didn't seem to doubt anyone, it stood to reason that keeping some distance from the teachers was required.

The fact that Ozpin behaved much like Urahara simply cemented the decision to rely on him sparingly.

He didn't even want to get started of Goodwitch, the woman could be just too firm at times.

Therefore the task of straightening the spoiled child naturally fell on his shoulders, and though he would do it begrudgingly, he would accomplish it without fail.

First things first, he needed to get the girl's attention. "It won't work."

"Excuse me?" The girl was surprised, definitely not noticing the presence of Tensa as she passed his dark form while storming down the halls. It was always easier to catch an occupied party by surprise, especially when it was something as base and moving as anger that filled another's thoughts. His comment was vague, though at the same time, delivered decisively as to arouse curiosity as well as somewhat offend. All her focus was on him now. Excellent.

"Your plan, it won't work." He sent a lazy, deliberate gaze out towards the end of the hallway, and even further, a part of the courtyard where the professor who so challenged her stood admiring the sunset. "You could complain to Professor Port, or any other, all you want but nothing will change. If anything should be said, it is that you are being quite unreasonable, considering the little display you put inside the classroom."

"How dare you!?" She screeched venomously, eyes ablaze with wrathful indignance as Tensa himself struggled not to wince at the volume of her voice. "I'm easily ten times the fighter Ruby is!"

"It would've taken you forty seconds to accomplish what my teammate achieved in less than a tenth of one, unarmed and without leaving his seat if I might add." Tensa shot back coldly, adding more fuel to the flames as he clawed at the fresh wound that was her classroom failure. "If being a leader was all about combat ability than it would seem that the one you call a child is even more qualified than you are. She even gave good advice, seeing as you couldn't strike the only other four weak points on it's skull."

"But-" She couldn't exactly refute what he said when it was all true, therefore it was wise of her to look for another angle to resume an attack. That was a move Tensa wasn't willing to allow her to make.

"Alright then, combat isn't all that makes a leader, I concede that point." He distinctly enjoyed watching her eyes widen with unabashed shock, as if he really did read her thoughts. Logically speaking, if one method or argument failed, it was only sensible to move to another. "How about experience then? She gave _you_ advice on dealing with a Grimm that you obviously didn't encounter before. She was prepared while you were not, for a class two years too early for her. Rebuttal?"

She opened her mouth to try and voice a reply, but Tensa simply continued to speak, without any intention of letting her get a single word in.

"How about the ability to promote team cohesion? She seemed to be willing to stay with the team rather than distance herself." He allowed a small smile to form just as her eyes seemed to widen all the more. "We managed to catch a glimpse at you as Ichigo returned from his morning exercises. With that and your current temperament, it wouldn't take a genius to put it all together." He shook his head, they had diverted too far from the original topic.

"You didn't even look at your partner when she chased you out of the class room." Anger shined behind azure eyes as he glared down celeste. "Ruby genuinely cared for your state of being, not even as a leader valuing a subordinate but as a little girl valuing her friend. She was worried about you, and you simply stormed off after venting all your frustrations on her. She cared for you, more than you care for anyone outside your own family, and how do you repay her? You broke her, Schnee, a child! I know you're trying to hammer in the point that she isn't ready for this, but there is such a thing as going too far! You call her childish when all you have been doing is placing all your faults on someone two years your junior! Have you no shame?"

Moments passed as azure met celeste with overwhelming force, though eventually Weiss lowered her eyes with a hint of contriteness.

"I may have been a bit too cruel." She admitted regretfully, though the defiance that she wore since the beginning had not diminished in the least. "That doesn't change the fact that she is the least capable of being leader among all of us. I took it too far, but... she's just a child. She shouldn't even be here..." _but not for our sake. She's too young_. Those words were left unsaid as the once haughty Schnee heiress stared at the cold ground.

He could see what plagued her, though he couldn't quite suppress the look of wonder that flashed on his expression.

_She's just like the young prince..._

She was spoiled, that much should be said early, but that didn't mean she was inherently evil. Her desire to be leader didn't seem to stem from something as shallow as arrogance or self-entitlement, but the need to further push herself. She knew she wasn't the best, she knew she had problems in some regards, and in the end, all she wanted was to be better. That was most likely where all the anger came from, when she didn't see a way to improve herself under Ruby.

That being said, when everything was all said and done, she still cared for her partner. She didn't have a very direct way of showing it, but she was once a little girl as well. Thrown into a cell awaiting horrible fates unknown, she knew the importance of strength, of steadily improving, and as much as she wanted that for herself, she wanted it for others just as much. Her words weren't meant to break her partner, just show her that as much as she was, Ruby was still not enough.

And it somehow made sense.

How could she show control over her voice against the child when the way she was shown her weakness was when she was threatened with rape, at half Ruby's age?

This makes things much easier.

"Who said she was the best choice for leader?" Tensa asked with a hint of a smile.

Weiss could only look up at the bespectacled boy with a look of utter befuddlement that she couldn't even form real words anymore. "Huh?"

"Look at the facts with me, Schnee. Ruby is a kid who hadn't even finished training at her combat school. Jaune Arc, I'm sure you can agree, isn't exactly the shining example of leadership either." She nodded in agreement to that. "On Ichigo, I need a bit of faith here, but he's not exactly the best leader either. If you asked him, he would honestly reply that he was the worst choice among us when it comes to real ability. None of those chosen as leader are fit to truly lead, which can only mean..."

"Ozpin did this on purpose." Her expression lit up with the glow of enlightenment, for one instant, everything that happened up to that point making perfect sense. That was until confusion took hold once more. "But then, why go through the trouble of creating a set up doomed to failure? If he knew that everyone he chose was the worst possible choice, why go through with it?"

Ichigo was their leader, that went without saying, though it was quite sad to say he couldn't exactly lead.

Tensa himself was the manifestation of his powers as a Quincy, but then again he could very well be considered one with the old Emperor. All his tactics, memories, powers, and skills were stored within him, and by extension Ichigo, though at that moment, the latter could not access all of those in their entirety. Tensa was most likely the most experienced of them when it came to the art of ruling, having been practicing since millennia past, ruling with wisdom and tact.

Zangetsu was more of a Warlord compared to the Emperor who stole his name. He would settle things with blunt might and would rule the same way if allowed, though unlike Ichigo, he would grasp his scepter with an iron grip. He didn't have the hesitation that plagued Ichigo if thousands if not millions of souls hung in the balance. Zangestu would rule with the decisive might of a tyrant though he would rule all the same by virtue of his strength.

Narius, though not a ruler in his own right, possessed all the traits of a manipulator. His smile was a solid wall that hid his thoughts while his actions were calculated and deliberate, a subtle guide towards an end only he knew. If he was half as devious as those who possessed the powers of the Fullbring, then he was already qualified to stand just below Urahara and Aizen in terms of playing games with people as pieces.

The only real reason why Ichigo could lead them was because of the simple fact that they made up his soul.

In the same way one did not allow a king to take to the front, Ichigo could never make a truly great leader.

Though he would grow into an excellent general.

And that was the gist of it, in the end, to allow them to act out, to practice what they were supposed to do before being thrown into the fields of battle. Here they would make their mistakes, here they would fail time and time again, but they would learn. They would get better. That was the basis of this training, to take those with the worst ability, those who needed hands on experience and make them into greats.

All Huntsmen and Huntresses had the potential to work solo after all, in the same way any was supposed to be able to lead.

"On her part, to allow her the chance to grow into the role." Tensa replied easily. Ruby was compassionate in her innocence, the fact that she chased after Weiss, who wanted nothing to do with her, showed that. She actually cared for her team, if any of them could see that then they would follow her without question. Coupled with the actual skill needed to direct them, they would make quite the fearsome force. "On your part, to allow you to learn to work as a team."

He paused to collect his thoughts for a moment before he resumed his peroration. "A King, or Queen, is nothing without the kingdom, and neither would be able to stand if they stand with interests divided. It will be her job to direct the team, to lead it when the need arises, that is a fact. But after all is said and done, when the day ends and you are all together, you and the rest of the team will be tasked with the responsibility to mold her into the leader that would benefit all. Only through working together can you make the best team possible, and to do that you would require both the best leader and the best team. That is the only way all of you would be able to grow properly."

He began walking as Weiss watched his back in thoughtful silence.

"It will be Ruby's responsibility to be the greatest leader she could be. It will be you responsibility as the greatest teammate you can be, Weiss, to help her get there."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"You found the worst people for the job to do it..."

Ruby's heart was crushed when he said those words, so much so that she almost fell on her knees in despair if her legs didn't refuse to move.

She was frozen and utterly broken, to such an extent that she couldn't even break down normally anymore.

She looked to the Professor for support first. Surely Ozpin would deny something like that right? He did say that her being assigned leader was done on purpose, surely it was for something other than making her entire team suffer as she failed them. She couldn't have been the worst choice for the job, not when Yang could have been an even less responsible and more impulsive leader. There had to be a reason she was selected, one that had to do with her being the only one for the job or something.

Maybe, the leaders were selected at random since they were all equally worthy.

Maybe something in her past records, or the way she beat Torchwick's men had a hand it elevating her into the leader position.

Maybe...

But as she looked at the Headmaster's eyes, all she found was wry humor, the exact same expression Yang would wear when Ruby figured out the punchline of a joke she was telling.

_She was right..._

That was all the was needed to obliterate any hope she clung to.

Weiss was right then. She wasn't worthy of being a student at Beacon, much less a leader of her own team. She was two years younger than most if not all of the other freshmen and that just made her a kid compared to them. She was nothing special in terms of ability, unless being subpar was something to be proud of. Everyone else had at least two more years of experience, two more years of training, two more years of diligent study. These were the best of the best in their Kingdom and some from beyond after all was said and done. It wouldn't be a surprise if every single one of them was a full two years better than she was. Her being young was a handicap, not an advantage in this situation.

So what if her weapon was special, every single one of them had something just as good. Blake had three weapons in one, and a spare besides while Narius didn't even seemed to need anything but his bare fists to kill. So what if she was fast, Weiss could obviously go much faster if forced, and Ichigo seemed to be able to travel much farther on a whim. So what if this was the one thing she always dreamed of doing, people like that were a legion a Lien, just too many to count these days.

Maybe it was best if she just gave up now, at least Yang wouldn't need to worry-

"Ruby, you back with us yet?" Ichigo's voice snapped her out of her spiraling descent into hopelessness.

She wouldn't mistake the heat radiating from her cheeks as anything else as Ichigo's face was a bit too close for comfort, and the fact that he had both hand settled on her shoulders in an almost... loving way.

No, not like _that_, only Yang would stomach something like a boy holding her like _that, _oh Remnant no! It was very familiar, giving her a feeling just a touch away from the warm fuzziness Yang brought whenever she hugged her to sleep as the thunderstorms raged. It was like she was talking to her father again, and the way that it made her feel like somehow, everything would be perfectly fine. It was like being comforted by the older brother she never had... and for some reason that made everything okay.

She nodded once, drawing a small smile from the boy who scowled far too often as they separated. "Good, now let me finish, alright?"

"Finish?" At his words, ruby was thoroughly confused, and it probably showed on her face given how even the Headmaster chuckled a bit.

She wasn't that disappointed anymore, whatever the older teen did somehow chased all her worries away, but she had to wonder. What was there left to say? Even the Headmaster acknowledged that she wasn't worthy of the position, that she was the worst possible choice in her entire team to be promoted to team leader. There was nothing left to say, or there should have been nothing left to say after that reality was accepted.

There shouldn't be a way to justify that...

Right?

Still, she decided to hope against hope that there was something else behind what Ichigo said.

"Yeah, finish. If what Brennan said was true then we are the worst possible candidates for the job: Jaune, you, and I." He said with not hint of despair in his voice. "But that isn't really a bad thing."

"But... we're the worst of them? How can that not be a bad thing?" Ruby immediately argued her frustration.

This was like using baking powder instead of baking soda, or worse, salt instead of sugar. Using something wrong for a job was one of a baker's worst nightmares; literally everything will go wrong. As a lover of baked sweets, or any sweet thing really, and weapons, she knew that doing anything with something that wasn't supposed to do that... thing would end up in disaster. You don't use wrench when you need a hammer, or a high temperature vibroblade when you needed a cold hydrocutter.

"What is a leader, Ruby?" He began patiently, in the exact same way Yang spoke when the older girl began teaching her about the intricacies of Remnant.

Not the actual Kingdoms, mind you, those were kind of boring. No what they spoke about that day was the most difficult board game in existence.

"A person who... um... leads right?" And just like back then, she was just as clueless.

"Simply speaking, yes, and how do you lead?" The older boy moved on while all she could think about was... well just how many things made a leader and how they did their... thing.

Leaders were supposed to be at the top of their game, the best of the best in everything they did, and that's how they led. Beacon was the leading combat school, being recognized as the only Hunter Academy in the entire Kingdom due to the sheer number of graduates in had contributed to the ranks of Huntsmen and Huntresses. The quality of these students were also a cut above the rest, true greats among all others in the kingdom, really the best of the best. Leaders did their thing by being at the very top and from there, they would help others rise, guiding them into greatness... or something like that.

Leaders were like teachers in a way, though instead of really teaching, the guided others on a path that should lead to the best possible outcome.

_But... that wasn't what Ichigo's looking for, or what Professor Ozpin's looking for..._

It couldn't have been, when she was assigned to the task. She wasn't great, Weiss, Ichigo, and now Professor Ozpin, all said that, but she was still called to be the leader anyway.

Why?

"I don't know."

"Well, I don't know either." Ruby simply stared, stunned at the taller orange-haired boy as he scratched the back of his head. He was supposed to be teaching her what she should do! Not... not admitting that he was just as lost as her! "Hey, don't look at me like that. If I already knew how to be a leader, I wouldn't be in this position. We're in a school right? Isn't learning new things something that should be expected here? So what if we can't lead... well not yet at least. We'll get there."

Huh, Ruby never really thought of it that way. It was always be the best you can be, and go big or go home with her, never once did she entertain the subject of true failure. She was good at what she did, maybe not as good as some in Beacon but definitely better than most at Signal, so much so that she got into Beacon early. In terms of combat, she was taught by Qrow Branwen, one of the greatest Huntsmen of their time when it came to close quarters combat. Her love for books gave a bit of an advantage when it came to self learning, giving her enough to leeway to sleep and class and still ace tests on self study alone. In terms of Aura, she even had her semblance in perfect control, though as with everyone, she could still grow stronger.

Looking back at everything, there never was a day where she really... failed, at least not by herself.

That was the reason why the mere thought of being a failure scared her so. Not because she was afraid of being labeled as a failure, but because she didn't know what it meant to fail.

"Take it from someone who's made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child, on this planet, Ruby." Ozpin deemed it necessary to speak after Ichigo made his point. "Failure isn't inherently something detrimental, but only if you managed to learn from them. Thankfully, we are at a school where learning fills these halls and people are ready to assist you. Also being a leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, it's a badge you'll have to wear constantly."

He looked both of them in the eyes. "This goes for the both of you, if you do not perform at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?"

"I'm trying to learn, and as clumsy as it looks, Jaune is trying his best too." Ichigo quickly added with a half-teasing chuckle. "As long as you keep doing your best, then no one should find a reason not to follow you."

He turned away, looking quite mysterious but Ruby managed to catch the half smile that tugged on his lips before he returned to patrolling the halls. "You two have been burdened with a daunting task, I would advise that you all, Mr. Arc included, take some time to think about how you will uphold it. But know this, none of you need to uphold such responsibility alone." With whatever advice he had given, he turned the corner without a sound and continued on to wherever his feet would take him.

Ruby, for the strangest of reasons, thought that even if she tried to follow the Headmaster, she had lost him the moment he left their sight.

"Try not to think about how to lead first." Ichigo spoke gently. "Just focus on really being a team, and before you know it, you'll be looking out for each other that you'll know what everyone needs before they even say it. Then you can take the lead."

He gave her a wave before sending her to her room as he began walking towards the courtyards.

"Oh, and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it."

"Wait!" Ichigo turned, an eyebrow raised in query after the little girl called out to her. "Why were we chosen as leaders then?"

If it was just to teach them how to be a leader then the leader position should be rotating every year. They had four of them after all. That way, everyone would have had a chance to learn how to be better at it, not just the worst of the bunch. She was bad, but they weren't perfect either. That meant that, aside from teaching her how to be a better leader, there must have been something she did that made Ozpin choose them, not just because they were the worst of the bunch.

Now, what did Jaune, she, and Ichigo have in common that Ozpin would choose them?

"Easy, we're the ones best suited to keep the team together."

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

If anyone told the upper echelons of the SDC that Weiss Schnee would be found passing the halls like a worried lover, they would be honored with a sarcastic laugh, a pat on the back, and a command never to say such things again. Goodness knows just how her elder sister, the one who gave up the mantle of Heiress after she joined the military, would react to her 'precious little sister' taking a lover, and no one wanted to die an excruciating death, thank you very much.

But that was the sight anyone who went down that hall would be greeted with, Weiss Schnee, the Ice Queen, pacing back and forth with a less than confident expression marring her visage. The cup of coffee she was sipping probably didn't help at all.

There was only one thought that filled her mind.

_How do I apologize?_

If there was anything she learned from her conversation with Brennan, was that he was wrong.

Ruby wasn't the best leader, but only she would be able to claim the title of "Worst Leader Candidate" on their team, not the sweet, innocent, little girl who simply tried too hard.

Not one day in, and she already betrayed herself to the promise of prestige and power. Not one day in, she was looking down at anyone who dared crossed her, anyone who made the simplest of mistakes before her. Not one day in, she was relying on what her family, what her name, what her money could do for her rather than what she could do for herself.

She came to Beacon in rebellion; to show her family that she wasn't to be tied down and forced into a mold they had prepared for her. She went to Beacon in the way her sister went to the military, to prove that she could be more than what the Schnee name has given her, to prove that she could grow into something all the greater and more beautiful through her own efforts. How could she hope to support that dream when not even a day had past and she was falling back on old habits?

To be perfectly fair, something like that could be forgiven as one cannot expect another to change so quickly. Old habits died hard after all, no matter how much she tried to slay them.

What she couldn't forgive was just how much she was acting like her father, looking down on the one who was already assigned leader and trying to impose her will regardless of how it would affect others. Blinded by her own arrogance, she sowed needless discord, to the point where she was willing to try and convince a teacher to aid her in overturning the leader assignment. That was the same ruthless tenacity that plunged the SDC in an unfavorable light all these years. Arguably, it was that selfish, conceited mindset that ruined the Kingdom of Mantle in the first place, just to sate the combined pride of the three major associations that governed the area, one of which is her own Schnee Dust Company.

That ended now.

Or at least that should end now, but the damage had already been done. She couldn't take back what she said to her leader, and she doubted she could just rush in there and just apologize.

Especially since most of her team finished dinner and turned in for the night hours ago.

Yep, the coffee didn't help soothe her nerves either.

"Cold feet, princess?" Panicked celeste met humored gold as she found Zangetsu leaning on the the wall next to team Isabelline's dorm, which was coincidentally next to their own.

"Nothing of the sort..." She sent him an appraising glance before turning her back on him. "Don't you have something better to do than bother me?"

"Hmm, I did want a turn on the team bike." She allowed herself a small sigh, before her arm flew at incomprehensible speeds. A deft gesture and the blade of Myrtenaster was settled against skin maybe just a touch paler than hers. "Oh, don't be like that. Narius annoyed the hell out of you, Brennan too, so I thought that it was my turn." She barely contained her surprise when her hand began to tremble under the strength Zangetsu mustered with two fingers.

"I would be the last one to say this, but you should take Mr. Emo's advice. Standing around here wouldn't do you any good unless you're waiting til morning." With but two fingers, on the weapon's forte no less, he forced her hand away, a mocking smile plastered on his face. "Unless of course, the big bad Schnee is scared of a little Rose?"

_Oh, so that's how you want to play it?_

Without breaking eye contact, she slapped his hand away, sheathed her weapon and proudly entered her own dorm, refraining from slamming the door in his face due to the fact that she could hear the blonde's snoring from the doorway. She wanted to get on the good side of her team mates and, as they say, 'make up' with them, not aggravate them any further. She supposed that she had to thank that white idiot one way or another, she doubted she would work up the never to enter without him.

Her eyes could pick up the slightest differences in the room though it was only illuminated by a lamp to her left. She couldn't help the smile that flickered on her face as she saw the empty bed that was meant to be hers, and the untouched luggage arranged neatly to its left. She could even make out the several areas around the room, marked with a pieces of paper that held 'FOR WEISS' STUFF' to ensure that one way or another the room belonged to everyone on the team. Her reservations aside, the room was mostly unchanged from when she left it that morning, due to her leader's insistence to wait for her before they really got into making the room theirs. She probably felt that it wouldn't be right if they weren't complete.

She felt the sting there. If it were her at the help, she would have been driven to arrange the room in the most efficient way possible, and would have disregarded any protests. Just another reason Ruby was the better choice when she thought about it.

Though it wasn't as if the little girl was devoid of flaws.

As good as her leader, her partner, was at making and identifying weaponry, her architectural skill left much to be desired. While normally -after she promised herself to be a it more accommodating- she would only care if the thing was actually held aloft, everything changed when it was _her_ bed that the unstable contraption rested above. For the life of her, she wouldn't be able to sleep properly if that thing wasn't perfectly stable.

And she meant _perfect._

Without a second thought she set down the steaming mug on one of the desks beside the door, before reaching into the depths of her soul and calling forth her semblance. A veritable arsenal of supernatural abilities, each equally terrible when applied in combat was made manifest... as a stepladder for her to stand on that she might more closely observe the deathtrap that was Ruby's bed hanging precariously above her own.

Idly, she wondered how the girl would get up there, silently vowing to have words with her younger partner if she set foot on her own bed each time.

She didn't gasp in surprise when she saw opened books and scattered parchment littering the covers of Ruby's bed, the girl herself lying asleep in the middle of the mess of notes, no that could have easily roused the girl from her well deserved slumber. A second glance revealed the girl's mask resting on her head, an open pen in her hand and, the glowing scroll behind her displaying Weiss' own number on the clear glass.

The musical laughter that threatened to escape her lips was never heard, not just because she was trying to stay silent but since she knew just how pitiful it would have sounded even to her ears. Who knew that after everything she said, her leader was still trying to reach out to her? More than likely, the only reason she couldn't work up the nerve to call was because of her own childish insecurities, and the fact that Ruby hoped she would arrive in the room before she turned in.

"You dolt." A delicate hand reached out and gingerly ran her fingers through raven locks tipped with deep crimson. "Though I guess I'm to blame."

Slowly her free hand drifted towards her leader's body, pale skin gently maneuvering between the light fabric of Ruby's sleepwear and the thick sheets until she one arm was successfully under Ruby's stomach. There was supposedly a trick to this, deft fingers rhythmically twitching, gently prodding at Ruby's side until she turned in her sleep, towards the edge of the bed where her partner was waiting. Ruby tipped over the edge and rolled into Weiss' arms, one hand holding up the smaller girl's back while her other shifted to support her legs.

It was only when she held the smaller girl in a bridal carry that Weiss realized just how young the girl was. The expression of warm innocence on her usually hyperactive countenance, the weight of her body that made it doubtful she could even wield that monstrosity she called a weapon, even the way she seemed to unconsciously flush herself against Weiss' form told her of a child much too young to be put through the trails she herself had prepared for her entire life. But it was that same child who never gave up on her, despite how admittedly unreasonable she was being. Maybe it was better that way, that it would be innocence that would mold them into the defenders of humanity, the lights in the darkness.

No one caught the ghost of a smile illuminating her countenance as she settled the little girl into her own bed, brushing away the stray fringes before she went to work.

Her father and her sister would be be screaming at how she used her semblance that night, the proud glyphs of the Schnee family reduced to accomplishing menial tasks like elevating her and fixing the architectural disaster that was Ruby's bed. Black glyphs blended with the hallowed darkness, several of them surrounding the ropes as well as the bed itself before she begun. Ever so carefully, the ropes began to stir, adjusting themselves as they went through the center of each glyph until she found the web of chord and cable was to her liking. Without so much of a sound the ropes were cut in places where they were unnecessary while black gave way to purple, binding cut rope in places where a shorter connection was required.

It was a more complex operation than she had thought, not beyond her mind you, but still quite the challenge considering the long day behind her. She loathed to admit it, but she could barely control the true fullness of her ability when it came to combat, only being able to display the extensive possibilities her semblance realized during practice or more relaxed settings like that one. Take that instance for example, where she managed to maintain her glyph for more than a moment when she never could gather the power when facing the Nevermore. Even more embarrassing was the time she fell with Arc, and did nothing to save herself when she obviously possessed the ability to do so.

Application, reading the flow of battle, caring for those around her, these three qualities Ruby had that Weiss sorely lacked. Ruby made do with the little she had and utilized it to the fullest while she herself couldn't seem to bring out the fullness of her potential. Maybe she would learn a thing or two by being partnered with such a person, and who knows, maybe they both would grow stronger despite her first impression of the red reaper.

Speaking of which...

"Ruby..." Lightly she nudged her slumbering leader awake.

Her reaction wasn't expected, the poor girl jerking awake, sending the pencil in her hand hurtling into the darkness while she scrambled upright. "Wiess... I was studying, then I fell asleep-" Weiss kept the smirk threatening to form at bay as she covered her leader's mouth, gently shushing her as she raised a finger to her mouth.

"Be quiet, you dunce, can't you see there are some people trying to sleep." She chided the smaller girl, no longer able to keep a small bitter smile from forming as she repeated the words she said that first night. If the little girl managed to catch the reference, she wouldn't know, but Ruby did seem to be occupied by something judging from how her eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Weiss..." She began carefully, most likely motivated by the argument they had early in the day. "Where are my notes?"

"On your bed, but leave them there for the moment." Ruby's own jaw seemed to be threatening to drop as she provided her leader that little tidbit of information.

"My bed?" She looked around, once more taking in the surroundings. She finally noticed that, aside from the fact that the mess of notes and papers were no longer surrounding her, it was Blake in the adjacent bed instead of her sister. Everything seemed to be lower as well, and she confirmed that fact by looking up and seeing the bottom of what was her bed. The slight differences to the set up didn't escape her notice either. "How?... Why am I..."

"Never mind that for a moment." Weiss herself glanced at her scroll before facing the smaller girl once more. It was late. "How do you take your coffee?"

"I... Well, I don't know..." Ruby started to stutter, more than likely shocked by the sudden change of treatment while she shook her head. Some people didn't know not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Horrible reference. No one would ever let her live it down if they knew she just likened herself to a horse.

"Answer the question." She added a bit more firmly, rolling her eyes at her behavior. They really needed to work a bit more if she wanted this to be a stable partnership and on her part, she needed to her fulfill her promise of being nicer. She planned to.

"Cream and five sugars." Was Ruby's hasty reply. It was her turn to be surprised.

She took a glance at the cup resting on her desk. "Is that right?" Her voice was barely a whisper, a breath of surprised humor, before she turned to her leader. "Don't move."

With all the grace her upbringing afforded her, she walked back to the desk and looked down at the cup, which seemed to hold as much heat as is did when she entered the room. She had just refilled it with coffee before she argued with the other white member on Ichigo's team. The nectar made sweet by her own hand still occupied most of the cup, its warmth making itself known as her fingers grasped the cup. Without hesitation, she brought the brew to her leader, disregarding the strange look she was giving her as she returned mild confusion with a reassuring smile.

"Here." Ruby to her credit, managed to take the cup without spilling the liquid before taking a sip. Her expression brightened the instant she took the liquid in, the smile and unabashed surprise on her face unmistakable to any who would have seen.

She knew where the cup came from. They both did. They both knew that if either of them climbed the bed above that they would see an empty cup lying among the pillows. Ruby's cup was still resting on the sheets above them. "Weiss..."

"Never mind that and just listen Ruby." She took a breath in preparation. This was the big moment, the event that would make or break her future here in this academy. This would determine everything from then on. "You should really think about what you're doing when it comes to things like this." Her knuckles rapped on the wood of a beg leg that should have rested on the floor instead of hovering lowly above them.

_What am I doing?_

_"_I would understand if you were sleeping above your sister, but me?" Her expression twisted with mild anger, mostly irritation as she berated the little girl in whispered tones. "And the bed's horribly done. I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink if that wooden death trap was hanging over my head every night. If you were as good as a leader as you are an architect the I would definitely be worried."

"Weiss, I know that I'm not the best choice to be team leader..." Ruby struggled to get a word in, and her attempt was cut down with ruthless precision, much like Brennan did to her just a scant few hours ago.

"No, you're not." She could see her leader recoil at that comment as if she was struck. Time for the Coup de Grace. "But... if I'm honest with myself, you're much better than I am."

Ruby was stunned for a moment. It seemed that whatever she had prepared didn't cover the possibility that she would admit her faults. With a smile, she continued before the silence stretched on for too long. "I had no right to berate you when all you were doing was your best. My showing wasn't exactly stellar either, and for no real reason at all, I have been antagonizing you since the day we met. It was petty, and childish and I realize that all the blame there lies with me. I'm sorry."

"Neither of us a perfect, but we don't have to be. We'll grow to be the best that we can be, the teams, the partners no matter how random, will ensure that. Therefore, tomorrow we will start working together on that, together, so I expect you to drink m-your coffee and be asleep after I'm done changing. We have a big day tomorrow if we have to correct your homework before turning it in. It wouldn't do for our leader to do badly, even if she should be two years behind everyone else. Understand?"

She nodded dumbly, looking at the cup in her hand almost fondly before taking another long sip. "Crystal."

"Good." She set aside her rapier before heading towards the bathroom. "Good night, Ruby."

"Thanks, Weiss." The younger girl beamed, almost illuminating the room with her childish innocence. She could hear the rustling of covers as Ruby climbed back into her bed. The ropes and mattress above her own creaked as the girl tested the new configuration while hushed laughter warmed her once cold heart. "Oh and Weiss?"

"Yes?"

"Sweet dreams."

"Just go to sleep you dunce." She continued on to the bathroom, replying without turning to face her leader. It wouldn't do for Ruby to see the smile on her face.

_Our job to support her, is it?_

She couldn't help but think back to her elder sister and the... strange way they treated each other over the years. They were not as close as she wanted them to be, more often than not it was a fault on Winter's part due to her time in the military, but there were rare moments of tenderness. Once in a blue moon, the older Schnee would sit her down, speak, act, _care _in the way only an older sister could.

Winter would listen then, no matter how foolish and nonsensical the words that came from her mouth were. She would offer counsel if she could, words of advice and encouragement accompanied by small bouts of good-humored laughter if it was blatantly obvious that all she wanted was her older sister's attention. She would even hold her sometimes, when her floodgates burst and nothing else could stop the tears from trailing rivulets down her cheeks.

Though she was cold as her name suggested most of the time, at least in those fleeting moments, Winter was warm. Time seemed to flow backwards in those rare moments, as if the indecent never happened, she was never taken, her older sister never left her to join the military. In those wondrous hours, they were just sisters and she would not be ashamed to say that those were an would be some of the happiest moments in her life.

Really, the only reason she didn't talk to Ichigo about it was that she was equally embarrassed to say such... fluffy things and that she regretted that her sister couldn't care for her more often.

_Is this what she felt?_

Maybe, this was what having a little sister felt like. Winter once told her that watching over her was like taking care of a very irate kitten, a compliment considering how much her sister adored those feline creatures, and if so Ruby felt like an overgrown puppy.

Not that she had a problem with puppies or anything...

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Ichigo asked the her, arguably the pinnacle of what the hunters-in-training were capable off, as he once more eluded her spear by the narrowest of margins. "Did I handle it well enough?" He spoke in a relaxed manner, belying the fact that he was locked in combat with one of the strongest combatants in their age group.

The girl before him, dressed in full combat gear in contrast to the uniform he still wore, frowned, quickening her thrusts in response while Ichigo's form simply continued weaving through the maze of blows his opponent pressed him with. Strike after strike, thrust for thrust the spear met nothing but empty air as the boy evaded with the ease of a master, though his expression was forever frozen into one of worry.

It was a dance of red as her hair swayed in the wind while gold arced through the deep night. Emerald eyes shined with feral beauty as the battle escalated further signaled by gunshots ringing out from the desolate rooftop. Faster the blade flew at him, powered by the dust shot from the end of the spear. Like the goddess of war she was called, she guided the spear through the air as she painted the picture of death, every strike lethal if the blade found the boy's body. It flew in arcs, spinning, twirling as flashes of bright vermilion illuminated the deep night, the golden blade hungry for blood as it sought the uniformed boy, all for a chance to tear cloth and break skin.

But as skilled as the Goddess was, she was only a goddess by name. It was but a title for her, as was invincibility, a sham, a facade to be broken when faced with something true. For what counterfeit could stand side by side with an original and not be found wanting? For all her hard earned strength and skill, for all the fame she had garnered over the years of public competition and victory, she was still ultimately human.

And a human can not stand against a God.

He evaded with ease, though not by merit of speed or skill, but by merit of sight. He could see her move and imagine the strike before it happened, simply allowing him to be 'not there' when the blow finally came. He could see the next one that followed, as well as all of her strikes before they came for him, and armed with knowledge he was simply gone before the blow landed. The world seemed to move slowly for him, his own reflexes honed to an extent beyond the girl before him, that even if he matched her speed or lagged behind by a fair margin, he still managed to evade the girl's strikes, no matter how far the skirmish escalated from a simple spar.

"You're getting faster though..." He commented as the blade passed his chest, the tip millimeters from his loosened shirt, before he spun on his heel as the weapon was thrust forward. For a moment he was face to face with the champion of Mistral. "Can we just get this over with?"

She seemed to think she had won, and rightly so as he had never put even a fraction of his power on display since they were children. Her eyes glowed with sadistic satisfaction as he finally stilled, the blade shifting into the sword more suited to close quarters combat, before it hurtled towards his neck. Quickened by the power of her semblance, the blade moved at inhuman speeds, an admirable attempt to catch him off-guard and end the battle.

This heralded her victory.

That is, if it wasn't stopped, trapped between two fingers.

"Please?" Ichigo asked once more, his eyes earnest as emerald quivered with the sense of defeat.

She relented with a sigh before putting her blade away first, her eyes lingering on where his fingers once were. It was scenes like these that reminded him that even the champion, the Invincible Girl was still human, that even he was still human to notice and poke fun at her defeated expression. Maybe he had developed a competitive streak, growing up the first time with Tatsuki, and now a second time with Zangetsu and Kasier, doing nothing to curb his intrinsically competitive nature.

And he always wondered how he looked like when Aizen did this to him the first time.

"I didn't think you could do that. It's not fair." Pyrrha complained, folding her arms after tossing her shield over her shoulder, he semblance allowing it to stick to the back of her corset before it fell on the ground.

"One of the rare times _I _ask for advice, and you want a duel." He retorted without any real heat. "Don't be too surprised if I want to end it quickly. Besides, I didn't bring my swords with me."

They had formed an admittedly strange friendship over the years, the rare times they met doing noting to help. Admittedly, it made sure that every time they met was interesting, as it either involved him giving or asking for advice, the former being more frequent than the latter. It had more to do with the fact that he was once and older brother than the fact that he didn't have problems. Case in point, he once talked to the twins about several issues their father seemed too busy, or rather unwilling, to talk about despite being a doctor. In the rare times he required advice, Pyrrha never failed yet, therefore when Kaiser was the closest alternative, it was quite obvious he would go and ask her.

The fact that she had approached him first was just a bonus in this case.

"Well?"

"I would say that you did the right thing." She nodded to herself as she rested her cheek on her fist in a gesture of thought. "Your, Brennan's rather, assessment it quite accurate it seems, and I'm sure Weiss and Ruby would work out their differences in time, especially after you've intervened. Though I speak from experience when I say I don't think your team needs any specific leader. You are all the type to go a bit crazy in a fight or end it before it even begins."

He nodded, not even bothering to deny her assessment. He would argue that he held back to increase his skill, just in case some obscure set of circumstances cause him to lose his powers, _again,_ but he doubted she would listen. "And Jaune?"

"Well, he seems to be trying his best." Ichigo scoffed in response, while Pyrrha took it upon herself to defend her leader. That meant punching Ichigo on the arm with more than enough strength to crack stone. Not like it did anything.

"It's just been a day. He's not too shabby with planning on the fly, you know?" She commented patronizingly, though if he was perfectly honest, she was exactly right.

From what he knew from Jaune and combat, the boy knew where he stood and tried to make the most of it. It was strangely foreign to Ichigo, whose first and only strategy was face problems head on and go from there. If Ichigo was not enough for the problem, he would compensate with speed, and then intelligence, and then sheer tenacity. Jaune himself seemed to do the opposite; he saw how he stacked up against an opponent, and from there he would construct a strategy that would benefit him most at the least cost. It was a sloppy method of execution, but the boy prioritized efficiency, taking into account most if not all variables before acting.

Sure his emotions get to him sometimes, as well as that strange Arc family thing, but he couldn't really say anything when he realized he had inherited the pigheadedness of _both _the Shiba and the Kurosaki family.

Really, if Jaune could bring out the power when it counted, he would be the perfect Huntsman.

Goodness knows the boy was honest, almost to a fault if anything. He was kind, respectful, even if he though of himself a cassanova when really he could barely pull off being known. He was an all around good guy, and though he was obsessed with being a hero like those before him, Ichigo objectively knew that he could do it if he managed to collect himself enough to make a good effort. He had everything he needed to be a hero, everything anyone would want a hero to be was within the Arc as hard as it was to believe.

There was just one glaring problem; he wasn't suited for battle.

"He has to be if he wants a chance to beat me." He shook away his frustrations at the boy he was supposed to be watching over.

Pyrrha seemed surprised for a moment. "Wait... he trains by regularly fighting you? You thought the best way to get him better was to fight you?" He nodded.

He almost wished he hadn't.

"You idiot!" He ducked under the shield that somehow flew from he back and made a beeline for his temple.

That was strange. The only time she got that angry at him was when he accidentally broke her sword when she demanded he show her his full strength. Even when he caught her in the shower once, the only thing she did was blush and high tailed it out of there, ignoring him for the rest of the short week he was in the area. He must have done something really stupid in her eyes that time, otherwise she wouldn't have chucked the _bladed _shield at his head.

"You can't train him like that and expect him to get better!" Emerald eyes seemed to burrow into him as she placed her hands on her hips and leveled the harshest glare she could muster at him. "Not everyone survives, much less improves after life and death situations. More than likely you scarred him enough that all he thinks about is getting stronger. Do you know how much damage you might have done?"

_Damage, she asked. She obviously hasn't read his transcripts yet._

"Alright then, I'm sorry okay? A friend of his folks asked me to train him and that's all I know." He admitted, even though he didn't exactly see anything wrong with it. Rule number 1 dictated, as of what Kaiser said, it was always best to agree with women before the argument escalated too quickly. As much as he could take Pyrrha in a fair fight, dealing with Karin taught him that he had to agree from time to time lest he be confronted with tears.

That was just his weakness right there.

"It was mostly to get a feel of what it's like to be in an actual fight anyway. You can't say that didn't work out." He didn't totally cow, giving her a small rebuttal as he began recalling what had happened during the initiation.

As long as he wasn't hanging from the stinger of a Death Stalker, he seemed to be perfectly capable of conducting himself in battle.

The problem was he barely participated in the counteroffensive.

"You'll train him then?" He asked challenge as Pyrrha crossed her arms before her chest.

"If he needs it, or rather if he requests it." She proclaimed firmly, biting her lip almost nervously. "I think you share some of the blame he lacks initiative when it comes to anything but women..." She seemed to be muttering something under her breath, a set of words not even he could decipher.

He would rather not pry, as he honestly didn't know what was worse, Pyrrha angry with the boy or Pyrrha with a crush. Either way, he prayed to whatever god still existed that Jaune would be safe from his childhood friend.

"So, when can I cut in?" A white figure asked from the doorway, an oversized khyber knife on his shoulder and his trademark grin splitting his face.

The job of a King was just never done.

* * *

**AN**

**It's over, and the holidays are here... took them long enough.**

**Sorry for the long wait guys, here's the end to the arc that had the most character development in the first volume. I changed up a few things, obviously the presence of the new team did some things, as well as Weiss' new background. I also made their reconciliation a bit more fluffy than in canon, though also a bit more serious since it wouldn't be realistic if Weiss was all goody goody when someone was watching. I really liked the idea that the reason Weiss managed to give Ruby the cup of coffee so quickly was because it was her own. Ruby and Weiss take coffee the same way. **

**I really hope Winter stays the good sister she looks like currently, it would make introducing her, early or not, much easier. That is the current trend, so I hope it stays that way.**

**Also the part about Ichigo and Pyrrha, really it was more just a nonsensical explanation as to how she knew the rooftop could be used for training, as well as hint at their relationship. Ichigo to me is always so sure when it comes to some things, but extreemly clueless when it comes to others. Here, growing up again in a somewhat better environment, he is more inclined to ask for help, especially if it doesn't involve risking the lives of his friends.**

**Also, this is a way to introduce my first, or second rather, original arc. The Lie Arc (If it's Ren's or not we'll find out)**

**Volume 3 is epic, again and admittedly, another reason I haven't been writing as often as I should be.**

**Special thanks to Blud who gave some corrections I most definitely missed. **

**Reviews**

**CM: Technically speaking he is a Protagonist, or Tritagonist if we are being nitpicky (Tensa/Brennan and Zangetsu tie for second place). There will be a part in the story where they will all just vanish back into Ichigo's soul, but much later in season 3, probably. On the power turning real, it was done in the case of Stark and Lilynette, though I can't promise that these four guys work the same way.**

**JJ: Well the reason I gave Port a bit too much credit was shown here, He doesn't get to talk to Weiss anymore. I really can't find myself using him when even as early as now, half of what she (Weiss) hears from him is "blah"**

**HSNGT: Thanks for saying so, I was wondering how people would react to that.**

**Guest: Part of it, yes, but most of you already knew that by now.**

**Midnight: I hope you manage to read enough to see this, so thanks =))**

**Aragorn: Same with above. If you reach this point, then yes, Narius is supposed to come off as annoying, maybe a bit too smug for his own good, and the justification for that will come at season 2 or 3. On what I'm doing with Ichigo and Zangetsu, at this point (chapter 4) they don't really know each other that well. As far as we can see, even in canon manga, Ichigo has yet to really use all that Zangetsu is, both the Quincy and Hollow aspects. Hope you'll stay for the ride, and thanks for taking the time =D**

**Review, favorite and follow if you like and support (not necessarily sponsor) the original media.**

**This has been Proccit**

**To all Star Wars fans out there, May the Force be with you**

**See ya! XD**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Phases of the Moon**

* * *

As he stared up at the morning sky, Kaiser decided it was a good time to evaluate his current existence.

He would say he was happy with his lot in life; a second chance, a beautiful wife, a well paying job, and enough action to last a life time, was all well and good. Though, he would say that he had mixed feelings regarding that last one, especially since it really was the reason he had everything he did. It was weird, paradoxical in a way, that all he fought for now would never have landed in his lap if he took away the chaos that came before it.

He was a Huntsman, one of the rare few accepted in the ranks without the tedious training the academies subjected its students, and as such he was one who fought for peace.

And if one thought about it, it was that peace that would have robbed him of all he had if he was just a bit late.

Yeah. If the world wasn't the hell hole it admittedly was, then he wouldn't be in such a satisfied position.

Without this chaos, he wouldn't have been able to reunite, or should he say meet, with Tensa and thus launch his career as a Huntsman. Without that, he more than likely would have stayed separated from Nozomi for all eternity, considering how long souls endured as long as they were not struck down. Sure his duties as a Huntsman kept them apart for a while, without them they would never have reunited in the first place. His reunion with Ichigo was inevitable, well as inevitable as meeting with Tensa was anyway though if he hadn't met one, he would not meet the other.

He was pretty sure that in case it _was _peace time when they fell from wherever heaven they dwelt, he was the last person the Quincy King would look for.

_Not the time for this._ He thought as he rolled onto his chest as fast as he possibly could...

"Too slow, you fucking cross dresser!"

Just in time to catch a glimpse of a black-clad foot before the sandal made contact with his face.

It was nice to see the boys kept up with their training, if the immense pain flash of pain he was feeling was anything to go by. Even better that his body was somewhat modified to suit his new role as one who fought at the front-line during the time of the Thousand Year War, and more recently as a Huntsman. Other than the transformation act, the strengthened body, and the queer ability to turn his eyes into projectors, he could somewhat mute the amount of pain he felt to the point that he barely felt a thing after the original injury.

Sure, he felt the primary strike, something like a warning to inform him that something was wrong, but he could still fight very well even if he was bisected, or disarmed-literally.

Though he barely felt it, he was still sent flying by that monster of a kick. Try as he might to slow his flight, his body was sent hurtling toward the cliff-side. The distance between the clearing closer to the middle of the forest and the mountain itself did not seem to matter, and neither did the trees in between as he was sent bulldozing towards the crags, his body a rag doll even as he made a humanoid-shaped imprint on the relatively hard rock.

"Yeah, I guess I deserved that..." He groaned out as brown orbs fluttered to life, fearlessly peering into the golden pools of his foe.

If it wasn't for his Aura then he would have been in worse shape, rather than just having his back 'bruised'. With sheer force of will he emerged from the strange crater he had made and cracked his neck, not once breaking away from his opponents gaze while an audacious grin spread over his own lips. He could feel the two energies intertwining as they were brought forth, his own body donning a surreal glow before the faint shape of flame lapping at his body was suddenly visible.

Glynda's rules be damned, now was not the time to hold back.

In a parody of their own technique, he shot forth as the ground beneath his feet crumbled with the sheer force of his step. His hand was clad in the energy of this world while his arm was cloaked in that of the next as he delivered a punch that the Hollow obviously did not expect.

One that actually connected.

He could feel satisfaction rise from within him as the sensation of the Hollow's chest caving tickled his knuckles. The ever familiar feeling of bone giving way was almost as welcome as his own lover's caress in this situation, and the sight of the Hollow taking a step back in retreat was just the icing on the cake. Of course, nothing was ever what it seemed with the Hollow, and when his eyes once more found his face, all he could see was the stuff of nightmares.

Zangetsu's chest was caving in on itself and the Hollow was _smiling. _

The world moved in slow motion for Kaiser as he saw a sword, as stark white as the sun itself, being raised up towards the heavens. It was not the blade that would be his undoing, but the arm holding it as the Hollow struck back, slamming the sharp elbow on his forearm and snapping it as easily as he would any toothpick. The Aura he mustered around the limb didn't even dull the blow, the white arm still managing to carve through the defense that saved him from the jaws of many a Grimm. Reiatsu did nothing but force him to watch as his own arm was snapped in two even before he could properly make an effort to evade.

He only managed to take a step back because his opponent allowed him to, that the Hollow could savor the helplessness he was supposed to feel.

Yeah like that's gonna happen.

It was Kaiser who was smiling as his vision shifted from his apparently 'broken' arm and the Hollow's victorious expression. "Oh, you think this is the end, do you?" He asked with all the flair of the magician as he painlessly dangled the broken limb before him. He even opened and close the fist that hung limply at the end of shattered forearm, even going as far as put his thumb between his index and middle fingers.

"Oh no, Kaiser." Zangetsu, replied with a sickeningly playful voice. "I'm going to have fun breaking every bone in you're body for that little comment." Even without the crimson reiatsu flaring about him, the Hollow was a monster to behold, especially how he could heft his giant khyber knife as if it weighed nothing.

The expression of a predator taking its sweet time was plastered on his face, while the wild fires of madness were clearly dancing within those golden orbs of his. This was the face of conquer that had won, of a madman going for the kill simply because the spilling of blood pleased him. This was the face of a God who looked upon ants that dared defied him, ants that would be crushed underfoot without effort.

Kaiser smiled as the Hollow made the same mistake Ichigo had made all those years ago.

Never underestimate a mod soul.

"Well fuck you too, Lolicon!"

The comment itself almost drew Zangetsu's maniac grin wider -all who faced him knew that if there was one thing he respected, it was tenacity- but it quickly became apparent that his barb would be the least of his problems.

All of it happened so quickly that those without the eyes of a skilled fighter would have been blind to what occurred. As if in defeat, Kaiser's arms fell loosely at his sides, for a moment dangling lifelessly and limp as the shattered limb that is was.

Then he took a step forward.

Unlike before, the distance between them was much shorter, a sparse few feet rather than tens of meters therefore pure Speed was Kaiser's priority; he was in front of the Hollow even before his eyelids recovered from a blink.

Kaiser himself kept his own expression as calm as a lake's surface as he raised his arm, the same arm that was supposedly shattered, and delivered a vicious uppercut, the first slamming into the Hollow's jaw even as his sandaled feet left the ground. With the left over momentum pulling on his arm, he pivoted on his foot with the fluidity of a master and guided the extra power into a spin kick that crashed against the stomach of the Hollow. A blow that would plough through any Menos sent Zangetsu flying into the forest, his white form nothing but a blur as he flew through the treeline and sent leaves swirling in a wall of green.

Kaiser didn't smile as he lowered his leg, the fact that the slacks he was put on for the sake of looking respectable were ripped not going unnoticed. A closer look revealed that he was even 'bleeding', quite a deep gash lining his entire leg as red slowly dripped from the limb and stained the forest floor. He narrowed his eyes as he directed his gaze towards where he sent Zangetsu flying, Kaiser's own body tensed as he prepared himself for the blow that was definitely coming.

Kaiser focused: Zangetsu could perform a counter strike the _exact moment_ he was struck, that speed was enough to set him on edge. Combined with the power to turn boulders to dust, it was no surprised Kaiser brought his full power to bear.

"That's not blood, is it?" Immediately, Kaiser's feet left the ground and sent his entire body turning before delivering a punch towards the source of the voice. Directly behind him, Zangetsu simply tilted his head to the side, evading the offending fist as he kept his eyes on the pool of 'blood' that spattered whenever the 'bleeding' leg moved. "You're still a stupid plushy or something?" Kaiser pulled his fist back to deliver a low sweep as Zangetsu spoke, though this time the Hollow jumped, narrowly avoiding the offending leg before settling on a platform of reiatsu.

_Oh, it's on now. _

Kaiser flared in anger as he redoubled his speed, flashes of reiatsu powering his blows even as his Aura glowed even more fiercely against the Hollow he battled. He struck with the ferocity of flame itself, tough moved with the ease and grace of leaves dancing on the breeze. Each strike contained all the strength he could bring forth, the strength that would consume simple Grimm and destroy even the older variants, and though they were evaded, each blow was followed by ten and more. Each missed strike fueled his relentless assault, quickening his steps and strengthening his blows until they were both blurring through the clearing, trees and earth around them gouged out by the sheer power in their blows.

But even so, he could not land a single strike.

It seemed that it was Zangetsu's perch that began moving as Kaiser continued to pepper the Hollow with a flurry of punches, the sound of air being forced aside with the power in his fists as well as the dull drone of Sonido filling the forest as the battle dragged on. Every punch, every kick Kaiser tried to deliver was cleanly evaded, Zangetsu no longer making an effort to dodge normally. It was almost as if he stood perfectly still, though just before Kaiser's blow would connect, the Hollow's form would blur, quickly disappearing before immediately rematerializng inches from his original position. The ever increasing speed Kaiser seemed to pressure him with did nothing to make a difference, Zangetsu easily keeping pace no matter how far the battle escalated.

It was difficult to classify Kaiser, or Kon, among the mod souls in terms of body simply because his was never a standard gigai to begin with. The other mod souls, designed by Urahara, had gigai. His wife, Nozomi, never needed one as somehow she managed to gather enough reiryoku to make something like a body on her own. Him? He was a plushy modified by the great God of the Sword, Nimaiya Ōetsu, as well the Mad Scientist of the Gotei 13, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. He could turn muscle and bone into soft... stuffing(?) and back again, making him basically immune to internal damage. When he did 'bleed' he wasn't exactly sure what was happened, but it didn't affect him negatively either.

He had strength and reserves rivaling a average vice captain, and when several of them possessed Bankai, that was saying something. Strangely enough, he could also use the power of this world, the strange Aura, as a shield and to further augment the powers his body was built with. But even with such strength, rivaling and top class Huntsman or Huntress, it still wasn't enough to force a focused Zangetsu to slip.

So he did the one thing he could to unbalance the Hollow.

He basically poked a tiger with a stick.

"Too scared to hit back, Lolicon?"

"That is the last straw_, _you damned crossdresser!"

In the center of a giant explosion of pure power, Kasier only had a single thought in his mind.

_Why does it feel like I'm forgetting something important?_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo eyed the Headmaster before him neutrally as the older man continued to sip his coffee.

"So you admit you cheated to gain entrance into Beacon?" The Headmaster repeated slowly, almost chewing on the words as their meaning was digested.

Ichigo, his expression as unchanging and stoic as Tensa's own was whenever he took the appearance of an older man, simply nodded in reply.

He thought there was something wrong when the Deputy Headmistress, Glynda Goodwitch just happened to come by their room one day and ask for his presence. Hindsight was perfect, he supposed and looking back, he really should have expected something like that. At the end of the day, Beacon was one of the four sole institutions that trained Hunters, as in if one does graduate Beacon or any of the other three Academies, being a Hunter is somewhat of a sure thing.

Even if one didn't need to graduate one of the Hunter Academies to become a Hunter, all graduates of the Academies _were_ Hunters, thus making the process of selecting students itself of the utmost importance.

This meticulous selection process was what gave value to the name of Hunters, the defenders of humanity against the Darkness. To select the very best of humanity, the most capable of fighters with the noblest of hearts, that was what the initiation, as well as other screening processes were for. Even as the students continued on their journey to become Hunters, they were monitored tirelessly, from within classes to extracurricular activities they might perform within the campus, that by the time they graduate, they would be worthy to call themselves Lights shining within the dark world.

No matter how careful he was, Ichigo knew that they would be found out eventually. No matter how much Kaiser could do from within -and admittedly he didn't know if that would even work- his secret would be found out.

With Beacon being as important as it was, he was surprised that he was allowed to stay even half a week after taking into account that he cheated his way in.

The only thing left now was to wait for the Headmaster's verdict.

"What am I going to do with you, Kurosaki?" He asked wistfully, his own chair pivoting to face the wide horizon beyond the windows of the high tower. It was only apt that the Headmaster for the school was situated so high up that he may, in a sense, watch everything that went around below him. It was just extra that his office actually was the Beacon that shined in the night, bathing the area in a faint green hue during select hours and special occasions.

In response to the question, though it wasn't exactly directed at him, Ichigo shrugged noncommittally. It was a show of ultimate nonchalance, that he didn't exactly care what would happen, or rather at this point no matter what happened he had no real way to over turn it. He was a student of Beacon, but even without that politically speaking, he didn't have much power. If the Headmaster threw him out right that second, there was no way he could go against his decision, and he already accepted that he wasn't exactly smart enough to speak his way through this.

And he didn't really have a problem with that.

In the end, he entered Beacon for two reasons, the first was to learn.

He was in school for the very purpose the institution existed for; he was to absorb any and all knowledge he could gain through the experience. Matters such as history, politics, leadership, craftsmanship, strange anatomy and biology, all these things were skills he was somewhat ignorant of, or knew very little of, and therefore he was at Beacon chiefly to actually learn. He was there for education's sake, to learn about the world he had been hurled into, the world he now had to live in.

Even when it came to combat, he was there to further his skills, as well as increase the control he had over the strength he could potentially wield. Tensa would showcase it time and time again whenever he would be dragged into a scrimmage against Zangetsu, that with enough control over a lesser power, it was possible to defeat beings with unrelenting strength. Of course, whenever they fought there was always fifty-fifty chance of victory, but the point was that skill could compensate for a lack of strength, skill he needed if he even wanted to wield his overpowering strength.

What was the use of, say, a sniper rifle after all, if he couldn't even aim it properly.

The second, admittedly, was more to humor his mother than anything, and that was so he could have a 'normal' school life for once.

Let's face it, Kurosaki Ichigo never was normal to begin with ever since he inherited the ability to see spirits. There was no changing the past, a past filled with war, well two of them, and blood and battle that even transcended dimensions as well as life and death. He fought numerous enemies but two of those foes, spirits, fragments of his very soul, could see something changing. Both Zangetsu and Tensa agreed that Ichigo had in fact changed over the years, in no small part due to the presence of his mother.

It was her death that heralded the beginning of his troubles, and it was due to her absence that he became such a perfect protector as irony would have it. But things have changed with her in his life. He was more patient, more willing to show that he cared, more decisive in taking the first step to solve a problem, more open with his troubles. He still kept a large amount of secrets, and he was still more inclined to punch a criminal rather than calmly talking them out of conflict, but he was different and those who knew him longest could see it.

Even Kon would say that he mellowed out, even if he was still such a prude when it came right down to it.

Following that train of thought, Aki thought it would be best if he would spend more time with children his age rather than training with three ageless spirits all the time. He seemed to be doing well with Pyrrha after all, as well as Jaune when they weren't exactly training, so it should be better if he would spend some time in a more 'normal' atmosphere. Normal being relative, he would at least change after spending four years around others.

His mother had high hopes for him too, maybe that was the only reason he had a problem with being expelled after the first few days.

Other than that, he didn't really feel anything.

If he really thought about it, he couldn't think of any other reason to be there, and that meant there, as in enrolled in the school. Every benefit he could gain in the school, he could readily gain somewhere else.

Interaction with others? Maybe a part time job would help him there. Waiters seem to be able get around, and he would be able to earn a few Lien as well.

Knowledge on the world? Part time job at the library perhaps. Well that, and maybe leeching off whatever teacher material Kaiser could scrounge up for him as a teacher.

Controlling his powers? That was what the three spirits were for in the first place.

Attending the school really just saves time, as he could do all three at once, as well as please his mother in the process. Aside from losing contact with Weiss and Pyrrha, he was sure Kaiser had that in mind when he enrolled, he didn't really lose anything except for a few hours of rest, rest he could deal without considering the longest time he went without sleep was _three months._

"Well, I must say, good work."

Time was still precious though. It would also take a lot more effort to juggle those things as opposed to him being in a school where all of those goals were being achieved simul...

_Wait, what?_

Ichigo simply stared blankly at the Headmaster, giving up his stoic expression in favor of donning one that closely resembled a fish while the older professor simply smiled fatherly in reply.

With those words and a disarming smile Ozpin shattered just his expectations.

"Huh" Ichigo was thoroughly confused. They should have been furious if anything, indignant at the very least, at what he did.

If everything Kaiser told him had been true then people actually trained for this. Some had dedicated their entire lives to entering these Academies, and he had, at least to them, simply gained entrance through technical know-how. The more normal reaction would be to detest him, if only because he lied to them. He crushed the efforts of those who trained their entire lives underfoot. Worst comes to worst, he committed a crime: Fraud, and therefore was subject to whatever the Law had in store for him.

They should be livid... not... not congratulating him.

_What the hell is going on?_

"I see you are confused, Mister Kurosaki." The headmaster more chuckled the words out rather than speaking them as he brought his hands together, his elbows resting on the glass surface of his table as he leaned forward. "Allow me then to enlighten you then. We have been aware of your little deception even before you stepped foot off that airship. And while you are not the first to have attempted to gain entrance in this manner, I must say that your attempt was one of the cleanest."

Knowing brown orbs didn't break gaze with befuddled amber as one of the professor's hands reached into his breast pocket and retrieved a scroll. With almost hypnotic grace, the device was placed on the smooth glass and almost instantly the entire table was set aglow in soft azure light. Holograms, much like those he had seen through Kaisers... eyes, hovered before him in the form of documents he had seen before. Of course he had, he was there when they were doctored to suit his needs.

His own transcripts.

Or rather a set of documents that served as substitutes as he never actually attended any of the numerous Combat Schools.

"Now at first glance, everything seems to be completely suspicious." The professor offered a kind smile as Ichigo's own expression fell into deeper confusion. "Please pardon our incredulity at your claims, after all, it is very rare that anyone would have the courage to claim... half of the feats chronicled in these recommendation letters. Your apparent lack of conventional knowledge, as it is stated by one of our faculty that 'Despite his capabilities in the field of battle he has never been to school at all', would have as believe you are a child soldier of sorts, or maybe a survivor from a village that fell to the Grimm, maybe even a deserter from one of the less... legitimate organizations. This fact in itself is not enough to deter us, truthfully..."

He leaned back on his chair, gesturing with his hands to call fourth five more images.

Each was a simple rectangular prism at first glance, maybe about as large as a standard suitcase, though the shape of the sides as well as the labels etched into the image gave it away. Though he could not view their contents, he knew he was looking at the records of at least three other students. What was strangest to him was the fact that none of the other folders were labeled with anything other than "Outlier' and 'First Years' implying that in their year alone, there was at least one other who gained entrance in the way he did, discounting the rest of his team.

"As you can see, quite a number have managed to do the same. As important as the past of a person is, we only take it into account simply because it is often a window into a person's inner self. The past more than likely shapes a person's present, as well as their future after all, so of course we make sure to thoroughly examine these documents submitted to us. Furthermore, these same files are our only window into your pasts, we are forced to look through them appropriately." An almost sly smirk tugged on the headmaster's lips as he took another sip from his cup of coffee. "It took our system, tried and true if I say so myself, one extra read through to find a flaw. Would you like to know what betrayed you?"

_I'm going to kill him_

"Headmaster, with all due respect, I don't really care how you caught me." The instinct to raise his voice was stifled down as he spoke in a firm, barely respectful tone. "What do you plan to do to me?"

His blunt line of question only seemed to egg the Headmaster on further.

"Right to the point, I see. To keep things brief, we plan to do nothing about the situation as of the moment. I simply asked for your presence to assure you that no actions will be taken due to your _creative_ method of gaining entry." His eyes were practically shining when he waved his hand, a simple gesture of dismissal. "If you have no more questions, then good day to you, Mister Kurosaki."

Something was wrong here, and not just because Ozpin was letting him off the hook that easily. There was a look in the man's eyes, a glint of anticipation that reminded him of all the geniuses that could and have forced the world to dance in their palms. The Headmaster knew what he was doing, and Ichigo didn't and now that he had been screwed over by the machinations of others far too many times, he recognized that as a bad thing.

Maybe leaving was his best choice at the moment.

Maybe if he did ask questions, he would be given straight answers.

Maybe he didn't even have to ask the Headmaster, Kaiser being a very reliable source of information as of late.

Or maybe he would just have trust his instincts.

"Alright, but why?"

"Well, because the transcripts, or in your case, recommendations aren't gathered for their value in providing information on a student's combat ability." Ozpin replied with a neutral, through bordering on wistful, tone as he peered straight into the soul of the student before him. Ichigo had to fight his inner urge to return the man's inquisitive gaze with a sharp glare of his own. "That is not to say that they describe a student's skill level accurately more often than not, but these records are viewed to gain insight on the person, themselves."

The transcripts were strange things as far as he knew. Much like those from his own school, they were supposed to show the institution receiving them his academic performance. In terms of this world's education, that meant the usual grade point average, which not only meant test scores but how well he could kill something in the place of the usual PE. That wasn't exactly the strangest part since the Shino Academy was something close, with the inclusion of the four combat types in addition to classic history and a bit of sciences.

No, what caught his attention was the inclusion of a mental profile.

Steady fingers pushed up the tinted spectacles that rested on his nose that for the first time his eyes were hidden from the teen. "All those who apply are humored, believe it or not, tested to the barest minimum of Beacon's standards. The only reason so few ever make it towards the initiation is that we look for so much more than a person's ability to slay a monster without hesitation. Anyone can be taught to fight, Kurosaki Ichigo, but to shape the will of a student, to call to them to fight for the right reasons? That is more difficult. So we take only those who are willing. You are greatest example of this, maybe with Miss Rose aside, hence our decision to allow you to stay."

And that made sense.

No one would try to change the mental profile, it was just too hard to keep up the illusion when compared to faking combat ability. Ability can be trained in the months after the applications were submitted but to change the very person, the personality of any being, would prove to be far more difficult. It would always be easier to teach a person how to fight rather that to teach a person how to act. The fact that there would always be tell-tale signs was just another deal breaker.

Unless there was another Aizen running around, then Beacon's application process was practically fool-proof, simply because they didn't care for true skill level. That could be tested easily, and with a live performance test in the form of the Initiation, it would be quick to spot any who were not able to cope with the Academy's expectations. If the Headmaster couldn't be more blatant, the school focused more of the motives of the students, to ensure that when they graduate they would be able to uphold their responsibilities as Lights in the darkness. What was important was that they had the heart needed to be a Hunter, their strength mattered not as long as they would survive the Hell the Academy would no doubt put them through.

People still failed, a majority of them did, but only for two reasons. Either they weren't good enough a people or they simply wouldn't survive what Beacon plans to put them through.

In a strange sense, maybe those who did cheat were more admirable. Despite their weakness, they were willing to risk life and limb for a chance to become Huntsmen and Huntresses.

On the other hand, there was always a chance that they were the most nefarious manipulators on this planet.

_At least the kid has nothing to worry about._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Jaune was worried.

Why wouldn't he be? Glynda Goodwitch herself, everyone would agree that she was terrifying when she wanted to be, interrupted the class to pull Ichigo out, something about his transcripts if his strained ears heard correctly. He had literally been beside the boy when the teacher called their attention, definitely in her line of sight even if her gaze was trained on Ichigo. He could feel his own heart sink when she looked in their direction, and even after she called a name not his own, there was a sliver of doubt weighing on his chest.

She wouldn't have thought anything was suspicious, right?

Most of the class broke out into nervous whispering after all, his own team as well as team Ruby sending each other nervous glances after the young man exited the room behind the Deputy Headmistress. That should have provided enough of a cover for him, as most if not all of them seemed to be distraught when someone as important as Professor Goodwitch decided to interrupt a class and call on a single student. He was sure he wasn't the only one looking like a dear in the headlights.

Right?

He shook his head, trying to clear away those thoughts as he continued walking down the corridor. Walking would probably be too soft, he was basically jogging down the halls, books and other leaves of paper under his arm as he navigated his way through the building. Ichigo never returned to the room, but since class was over, he would most likely be in the dorm rooms, training somewhere in one of the many sparing arenas, or having a quick bite before dinner in the cafeteria.

That was assuming he was still on the school grounds, and not unceremoniously expelled from both the school and its premises.

_No time for thinking like that, gotta hurry up!_

He made a rush for the dorm first, seeing as the rooms of teams Ruby, Juniper, and Isabelline, were all in the same hall.

He thought having the knowledge that Ichigo cheated too was a good thing. It was, in fact, a sense of confusion as well as comfort for the blond boy. Though the reasons why such a great fighter, and admittedly smart older boy -Ichigo had tutored him in history from time to time- eluded him, he found it comforting that there was at least another person in the same boat he decided to take into the storm. There was safety in numbers after all, and if they did get caught, at least he wouldn't be sent home alone to face his family. It was that sense of togetherness that gave him the strength to be better, to live up to the lie he told and grasp his dream with his own two hands.

Now that one of them was caught, he wasn't so sure.

As much as he would like to brag about his awesomeness, and really he was most definitely awesome, there are some things that he just wasn't good at. Riding things that fly, for example, is one thing he couldn't do without vomiting unless he was on some sort of medication. Listening to teachers and taking notes would only be possible of he really liked the subject being taught, or more often than not, his mother threatened him to do so. Even fighting and he meant fighting properly, he found, would only be remotely possible if he was in combat against some sort of monster, maybe a training robot, or Ichigo.

Because anyone who saw that boy fight knew he was definitely a monster.

Faking transcripts himself was a no go from the get go, and though he did manage to find a person willing to do it, he didn't exactly know how good they had to be to make it past the diligent eyes of Beacon's Admissions Office. He was overjoyed when they made it through the first few days, but now that one of them had been caught, he had a strange feeling that it was only a matter of time before his own secret was unearthed. Well he wasn't exactly sure how his own altered papers compared to Ichigo's own but he learned to always trust his gut when it came to things like this. Maybe if he got stronger fast enough, that wouldn't be a problem when they test his eligibility.

That train of thought was promptly derailed when his vision was filled with something... white?

He had but a split second to register a strange smooth softness on his face and blackness cover his his eyes before the strangest of feelings made itself known. An instant later his body was confronted with such a force that it was enough knock him off his feet and into the air, despite the the telltale glow of Aura cloaking his body. It was almost like someone convinced Ichigo to wrap his fist in a pillow and punch him with it, the sheer impact powerful enough to send him flying down the hall and onto his back no matter what the object was made off.

His own grunt of pain made itself known to him, when his back was slammed into the floor. As good as the carpet was in the halls, it didn't do much to ease the dull pain of meeting the ground at a few meters per second, but that wasn't as important at the moment. In fact, he would dare say that the fact that he would be exposed some time in the week wasn't as important now that he had a more immediate problem on his hands.

'Try to follow your instincts' Ichigo once told him, and after battling -or getting beat down by, whatever is more appropriate- that young monst-boy he had developed a feeling. That little voice that told him if he was in over his head, or that he was in danger was honed to such a degree of accuracy that it was frightening.

That very same voice was screaming at him to put some distance between him whatever crashed into him lest he suffer a painful death.

And the fact that it wasn't only sound he heard when his back hit the floor simply gave more weight to his worries.

Opening his eyes, Jaune almost panicked when the sight of a thin red ribbon against white cloth filled his vision while scent of roses and strawberries overwhelmed his nose. There was literally only one place he would be able to find that combination, well two actually, though since he wasn't burnt to a crisp just yet, and neither was he having any particular trouble breathing, that narrowed it down to one candidate. He would have to do this quickly if he wanted to stay alive.

"Ready your feet." He whispered before his hands found her shoulders and pushed her upwards as hard as he deemed necessary.

He almost chuckled at how light she was, maybe just a heavy as one of his littler sisters, but time was of the essence. He just hoped that she would find her feet instead of falling on her back. With her weight no longer inhibiting him, he waited for the sound of footsteps backwards before he put his full weight on his back and kicked up, landing on his feet just in time to meet the awe filled gaze of the young leader of Team Ruby.

"That was awesome! How did you do that?" The smaller girl was gushing as she quickly reduced the distance between them, silver eyes shining with unabashed excitement. "I mean, Yang can push up from the ground too but she always uses Ember Celica, but that's cheating. You can get up with no hands! You were just all, 'Boom, I'm up, what's happening?' Can you teach me how to do that, though I might not use it often since I don't usually get knocked down and all." A small chuckle escaped her lips when her words caught up to her. "Ohmygosh, I'm sorry I knocked you down! I was running, and then I found you, and I know I shouldn't be running in the halls or using my Semblance outside of a..."

Oh, she was blabbering again. He would admit that it made her look cute, in the way a little kid was cute, but he needed to go.

"Ruby, It's great that you're alright, but I kinda need to get going." He clutched her shoulders, lightly shaking her out of her prattling trance. "I kind of in a hurry to get back to our room."

"You're going back too? Great! Come on, we can walk and talk." Ever the energetic girl, Ruby tugged on his arm before walking in the direction of their rooms. "It will be just like the first day again, except for the getting lost part."

"Fine, but I'm leading the way this time." He retorted with a smile, falling in step beside her as the continued to walk the halls of Beacon. The silence was comfortable, though knowing who Ruby was, she must have been bursting with anticipation for something. Eh, he wanted to know she bumped into him so violently in the first place. "Why were you running in the halls anyway?"

"They finally wrote back!" She squealed excitedly as she waved a piece of paper in front of his face.

He couldn't help but feel a bit happier for her when he saw the letter. Snail mail, really writing and sending letters, was a dangerous business especially when it came to cross continental correspondence. It was usually limited within kingdoms now, since it was much easier to send and receive them that way. It was a mark of intimate friendship nowadays, a show of effort and care especially with the convenience of scrolls and the Cross Continental Web readily available to them.

He could understand the excitement she felt, he was filled with the same emotion when he received a grand total of nine letters the afternoon after his appointment of as Team Leader.

"They?"

"Uh-huh." Ruby nodded energetically, stopping as her expression suddenly turned thoughtful and then understanding. "Oh yeah, you weren't there. They're my friends from Signal! A couple of them got along with Yang too so I want her to be there when we read them. In fact, I think she even has her own here somewhere." Small hands flipped through an assortment of letters at frightening speeds as silver eyes focused on the fast moving envelopes. That's probably what caused their initial collision in the first place. Well, that and his own inattentiveness to the surroundings.

A quick cough into his fist and she froze, tucking away the letters within her jacket. "Sorry, I was just excited." She smiled at him before making a difficult face. "Oh, I forgot to ask. Why are you in a hurry anyway?"

At that moment, all that was weighing on his mind took center stage once more. The irony of talking about his situation with the girl who gained entrance two whole years early was not lost on him, but he was better than that. He wouldn't want Ruby to feel bad by explaining himself to her, she might even blab, willingly or not, on him. Though how to escape from a situation like this, wasn't exactly something he was taught.

Winging it, it is.

"I'm going to be doing some training with Team Isabelline." He gave her a strained smile, hoping she would leave it at that. "Ichigo and I were friends from before and he wanted to see how much we've improved."

_It's a likely story, one she would buy hopefully. _

"Really, can we come too?!"

_Damn it!_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ren would be lying if he said he wasn't in awe, and that was just from the first punch of the fight.

He knew that quite a few of them knew and practiced unarmed combat, supposedly the entirety of both teams Isabelline and his own team Juniper, as well as Yang. If by virtue of that alone, he had a quiet respect for his team, the other all boys team, as well as the blonde bombshell as fellow practitioners of that art. It was only then did he have an opportunity to really appreciate just how skilled one of them was, despite their varying fighting styles.

A bit of context may be in order.

He and Nora were quiet in the room, mostly because his best friend was asleep: amazingly tired after their lessons, when their leader entered with a weary expression. One look of surprise at Nora's slumbering form, he shook his head and began to change, quickly stripping his uniform in favor of his strange combat attire before picking up his sword. Absentmindedly, their blond leader invited him to come on a little training session they had, and with nothing to do, he left the room with a sleeping Nora and followed his leader out.

Out in the hallways, he gave a nod of acknowledgement to an excited Ruby as well as a bored Yang before they all journeyed to one of the training arenas, where the others were supposedly waiting on them. It seemed like Weiss didn't want to join them and Blake had excused herself to study in the library, while he explained that Nora was asleep and Pyrrha had gone to train by herself when they asked in turn. The trip towards the training arena was one in comfortable silence, though the pretense of patience was quickly exchanged for surprise when they entered the arena.

There were many rooms like this one on campus, a place where each student was able to practice their fighting skills alone or with an opponent as long as the arena was not in use. The raised arena floor was freshly cleaned after each class, while one could still see the remains of torn cloth and chipped armor scattered sparsely around the bleacher areas. The lights above them shined imperiously, illuminating the entire room and most especially the one that stood in the middle of the battle area.

Standing proudly with arms across his chest and a grin on his face was Narius.

Crimson orbs seemed to look through each and every one of them, appraising them like a judge before the condemned before hiding his eyes in narrow slits and his expression behind a radiant grin.

"You know what to do." He had said with naught but playful humor, as if this training session was a game to him.

On his part, he simply stared at the boy in a suit with no small amount of confusion. Not only was that one of the vaguest statements he had heard that day, but he was sure that none of them even knew what he was referring to. Literally, they boy had been standing there, looking at each of them before he uttered that cryptic statement. How were they supposed to know what he wanted them to do? Were they supposed to fight him one by one? Were they to go together and fight him all at the same time?

Of course they were saved from thinking any further when Jaune quickly rushed into the other blond, a smile on his face as Jaune closed the distance with sword lagging behind him and shield at the ready.

Then Narius moved.

It wasn't impressive in and of itself as a move. If a person looked at it with just the shallowest lens and the least amount of understanding, that person would see that all Narius did was take a step and threw a punch.

But that wasn't all of it. That didn't do the move justice, nor did it showcase the true skill it took to perform something like that in the middle of battle.

Jaune was approaching with all the speed his legs could afford, a desperate charge from the looks of things. With his shield before him, anyone would have guessed that he was planning to ram Narius into next week, or maybe catch the unarmed boy with his sword if he had attempted to dodge. Narius himself didn't seem to want to move from his position, arms still crossed before his chest as he observed both them and the charging boy before him. Ren could see him smile as Jaune moved the shield out of the way at the last second, when there was barely a meter between them, and brought his sword in a wide arc, intent on cleaving his opponent in two.

Narius moved a beat later, but contrary to everyone's expectations, he took a step forward. It was like he was watching Jaune's sword arm as it went on it's arc, and with that awareness he escaped the range of the blade by advancing forward instead of retreating back. Jaune had no time to bring his shield forward or stop himself from delivering a slash that would obviously miss, while Narius twisted, evading the arm that would have fell on his shoulder while simultaneously landing a flawless punch on Jaune's breast plate.

It was only icing on the cake when Jaune was immediately on his knees and Narius looked like he was no worse for wear. His smile didn't leave his face as he nudge Jaune's fallen form lightly with his foot, bringing his chest to the floor, before helping their leader up to his feet.

"I'll give you your evaluation later." He sent Jaune back to the group before addressing them all. "Ichigo isn't available at the moment so you guys are going to have to deal with me. The game is one-on-one, and the first one knocked down loses. Anyone want to go next?"

"Why knock down, aren't the Aura levels still monitored whenever fights occur here?" Ren found himself asking to quell his curiosity.

Most battles ended when a referee called it, or when it was governed by the fighters, when one of them reaches the red zone or promptly gives up. Staying on their feet didn't usually have anything to do with it, especially when maybe taking a prone position is the best course of action. In his personal case, fighting in his current style would allow him to take down opponents even if he was sent to the ground. He would be as proud to say that if it came right down to it, he could beat Nora lying down.

"Why don't you come here to find out?" Narius taunted with a smile before crossing his arms before his chest once more.

_That's his opening stance? Is this a joke or does he practice formless fighting?_

The formless stance hinted one of two extremes, either the combatant had exhausted the style itself, reaching legendary mastery that the ability to strike between the stances, to achieve the desired effect without needing to follow form, or that he was totally ignorant of a martial art. It was difficult to classify the opponent before him, seeing as one strike was all t he had performed. As impressive as it was, it told him nothing he needed to know, only raising more questions than answers.

Did he use pure force to knock the wind out of their young leader, or did he possess enough skill to perform internal strikes?

There was only one way to find out.

With a breath, he allowed the power of his Aura to circulate, and focusing that strength in his legs, he took off in a burst of speed. He could feel crimson eyes looking down on him, analyzing him and finding him unworthy, but that was fine. The snake that can not be seen is the snake that gorges himself on the flesh of his enemies. He was lighter than Jaune, the only thing of great weight on him being Stormflower stored in each of his sleeves, therefore what his leader needed a dozen steps to achieve, he managed in four, clearing the distance between them in less than half the time before he attempted his first strike.

His intent was different from Jaune's, instead of a continuous flowing strike he opted to use an equally fluid but less aggressive method of attack. He entered the locking stance from the side, his foot firmly planted in between the feet of his opponent when he twisted into his punch, all the gathered momentum in his arm just before the strike. He didn't mind the smirk on his opponents face as time seemed to slow for the both of them.

Narius leaned to the side ever so slightly, just enough to evade the blow he knew to be coming from the boy before him and simultaneously threw a counter punch.

Just as planned.

He allowed himself his own smirk as Narius' eyes widened, Ren's own arm snaking its way into the opening left as the blond performed his counter punch, and using the force of Narius himself, he guided the arm away. With his right hand firmly gripping his opponent's wrist, he took another step forward with his left foot, slamming his left shoulder into his opponents chest before bending his knees. He didn't see Narius' reaction on impact but as he felt the wind being knocked out of him, his left hand grabbed Narius' arm and tucked it in between his shoulder and his neck. With Narius' chest on his back and hip, he threw him over his shoulder, guiding his opponent with his left arm to force the opponents back onto the floor.

Or at least that was what was supposed to happen.

The throw was somewhat basic, to be used if he somehow managed to position the opponents arm over his shoulder and imbalance him with his hip. Narius didn't expect him to have dispersed his forward momentum by stomping on the floor and entering the locking stance, which allowed him to do just that and set up the throw. The move was performed perfectly, in fact he would say the boy seemed much lighter than he had thought, however the problem arose in the landing.

While it was expected that the opponent would land on his back, Narius seemed to jump into the throw, kicking off tho help it along as he kept his knees bent as much as he could. Contrary to his expectations, Narius didn't land cleanly on his back as intended and instead flashed him one final smile before forcing himself on his knees and countering with a kneeling throw of his own. There was too little space, too little time and too much force involved for a proper counter and with that, he felt up and down exchanged places before he was knocked on his back.

The next moment he opened his eyes, he was peering into cheerful crimson while the sensation of cool metal lingered on his neck.

The exchange lasted three seconds at most.

"Surrender?" The question was phrased as a question, but he could see no doubt of victory in those crimson pools. There was deep tranquility in those eyes, a surety so unshakable it was almost unnerving, though he could see the infinitesimal flash of hope in them that came with choice.

If Ren didn't know any better, he would say that Narius was _hoping_ he would force the fight to continue.

He could understand the feeling, there was always a sense of competition that filled him whenever he saw a fellow practitioner in the unarmed arts, but even he wasn't stupid force the continuation of the fight. The fact that he was given time to prepare a counter offensive meant that Narius was confident in his ability to deal with whatever he had in store. That, and there was also the manner of the blade at his neck, a blade that seemed to push harder against his Aura clad skin.

Aura or not, the throat was not something one wanted stuck.

"I yield." Reluctant acceptance lined his voice when he proclaimed his defeat. He quickly found his feet once his arms were released, and after a quick dusting, he faced the victor once more. "That landing wasn't supposed to be possible."

"Just improbable. Under normal circumstances I would have two broken feet, but with enough Aura..." Narius trailed off, allowing him to reach his own conclusions about what had occurred.

He was sure that he landed on his feet, to execute that particular technique, but it was how he did it that was astounding. As he said, it wasn't supposed to be possible, but he had his knees bent and feet at the ready in such a way that he landed in a crouching position before he allowed momentum to take over. Narius then moved his body forward and ended on his knees while he used immense strength from his core to pull him down and executing what was essentially an impossible counter.

As he said, if any practicing martial arts tried to perform such a feat, they would end up quite severely injured, but with their souls increasing the durability of their bodies, it was...

"The perfect counter-throw." Ren had new found respect for his classmate, his behavior hinting at a third option. "I never had a chance."

He had originally thought that the Blond who took down Professor Port's Boarbatusk was either a master of the technical aspect of fighting or someone who possessed physical prowess to such an impossible degree that it didn't matter. It might be that the boy before him was both strong _and _skilled. A man with both the strength to break boulders as well as the knowledge on how to make use of every bit of that strength was frightening indeed.

"Don't sell yourself short. That opening stance looked like something a striker would use." Red eyes were appraising him once more, though the heaviness in them was gone. He was just looking at him now, a gaze devoid of judgement. "Surprise tactic, maybe? Anyway, good job trying to adapt to the situation but..."

"Out of the way, Ren. It's my turn!" He couldn't stop himself from cracking a wry smile as the girl practically sang the proclamation, the sharp sound of a gun being fired further punctuating her happy challenge.

When he turned to see the little red reaper of team Ruby, she was already in the air with her cloak fluttering behind her and her scythe raised high, reminiscent of his other bodacious lady friend. Once more the trigger was pulled and her form was sent spinning, the scythe blade seemingly extending as she began to spin faster and faster like a giant red buzz saw coming straight at the both of them. That was just the beginning it seemed, as the first gunshot only heralded several others, Ruby emptying her clip with little hesitation as she blurred into a maelstrom of movement. What was once a buzz saw was now a hurricane condensed into a sphere, threatening to consume any living thing daring enough to enter the reach of the scythe's deadly edge.

_Nora would be proud._

He shook himself from his quiet musings, as the battlefield was not place for such idle thoughts. Besides, he was still well within the range of Ruby's sphere of death if he judged his trajectory correctly.

Concentrating as much Aura into his feet, he unleashed an explosion of power and propelled himself back a significant distance as pink eyes still aglow with the Manifestation of the Soul focused on the tranquil form of the other blond. His stillness didn't surprise him as much as it unnerved him, but the grin he wore still had not changed since Jaune charged him. It was no longer a look of one friend helping out another, but an insult hidden within a saccharine smile

He didn't think any one in the room would be able to so much as touch him.

Ren himself disturbed that quiet conceit, but he still was defeated with but a second action. He must have really thought that Ruby could be dealt with just as easily as Jaune was. He decided to postpone judgement until the end of the clash between the Red Reaper and the Blond in a Suit.

He didn't have to wait very long.

He didn't, or rather he couldn't, overcome himself as surprise surfaced and superimposed itself on his once stoic expression. He just couldn't deny it when the green started flickering at the feet of the blond boy. Those flashes of color soon grew and rippled outwards on the arena's surface like a pristine lake disturbed by the fall of a single rain drop. The harlequin circles were small and insignificant compared to the crashing seas or his own explosive waves of power but still large enough to catch the eye and ultimately beautiful.

And then Narius was gone.

The next thing he knew, Crimson Rose clattered on the arena floor violently, no doubt due to it's sudden lack of a wielder guiding it's furious rampage, while said wielder was being held aloft by the hips and obviously surprise as everyone was at the development. He didn't need to turn around to gauge their reactions. Ruby included, they were probably just as slack jawed and wide eyed as he was at seeing such a maneuver being performed, or rather _not _seeing what had happened.

All except one.

"As I was saying..." Narius' grin shrank, the boy acting as if he wasn't carrying a very flustered Ruby like a child. In Ren's opinion the smug smirk seemed to suit him more.

"Put her down, blondie." It was Yang's ominous voice that turned all heads in the room, her hair on fire making a enrapturing sight. More than likely her visage was the last thing most Grimm ever laid eyes on, but one had to admit that it was a thing of beauty. That wasn't the reason the blond opposite her was smiling though.

As if in challenge, Narius spun Ruby with presumptuous ease before her setting down facing the angered Yang. But even before the Red Reaper could take a step towards her sister, his arms were warped around her. He lowered his head next to her ear and made a show of taking a breath, and from his distance it almost looked like as if he was taking in Ruby's scent and whispering sweet nothings to the girl. The fact that Ruby was soon tinted an entire shade darker than her own name did nothing to stop them from jumping to conclusions.

Crimson eyes opened once more and peered into another set of identical orbs, one glimmering with amusement while the other smoldered with hardly contained wrath.

"Make me, _Sunshine_."

That was the last straw.

With a bloodcurdling war cry she was off, a veritable shooting star clad in flames hurtling towards... Ruby?

Faster than anyone of them had ever thought possible, Narius was right in front of Yang, who threw her fist forward as soon as the smirking within her reach. Ren could have sworn that with his Aura inactive, he could feel the heat coming from the explosion, a burst of flame blossoming from her fist in an explosion just beyond her gauntlets; a result of her Aura leaking out after she threw the first punch. It was almost too bad that she missed her strike entirely.

It wasn't by much, but Narius took a small step to the side and evaded the blow entirely while bringing himself face to face with the enraged sister. In what looked like Ren's own move, he used the momentum of the wrath fueled punch against the girl, though instead of the arm, Narius grasped Yang's face before viciously pulling. Though she was relatively low to the ground, she still managed to flip twice before he body made contact with the arena floor.

Of course that was no where near enough to keep the vengeful sister down, but two swords crossed inches before her neck to prevent any sudden movements quickly ensured that the fight was over.

Narius helped her up of course, though even he could see the strain in his face as Yang gripped his hand with way too much force.

"Alright, at the risk of being interrupted again, let us begin the lesson." All traces of teasing disappeared from his voice as Narius looked to each of them and took their confusion in stride. Probably only Yang kept up her angry glare, though her eyes were lilac once more and her hair was just the regular shade of golden. "What was the one thing all of you have in common?"

"That we all lost?" Jaune tried to point out helpfully, but was quickly cowed by Yang's angry glare when she directed it at him.

"No, you're trying to look for the answer at least." Narius praised Jaune patronizingly before turning to him. "Ren?"

"We all tried to strike first?" He answered wit a bit more confidence than his leader. As a martial artist, he knew that striking first could lead to equal parts victory and defeat but...

"Close, but not quite. It is part of that though." There was more to it then? Ren didn't have time to wonder too much before Narius called the next fighter. "Ruby?"

"Uh... What?" The girl innocently grinned at the tallest blond, inching away from him as to hide the fact that she had been staring at his twin swords the moment he stopped moving them. "Um... we... we can't figure out why we lost?"

"That..." He paused in thought, caught in between exasperation and consideration. "is actually part of it, but still not the answer I'm looking for. And since Yang would probably lose it again, I'll just go out and say it."

"It's probably unconsciously, but all of you fight me in the same way you fight Grimm. Its presumptuous."

They were caught flatfooted by the blond's judgement, not because it seemed particularly harsh or heartbreaking, but because it was the truth. They had trained that way for years as the Grimm were what they envisioned whenever they fought. Huntsmen and Huntresses were expected to prevail against Grimm. It was like saying the sky was blue and grass was green. It was simple commonsense. No one could see what exactly was wrong with that.

"How is that a bad thing?" Jaune was the first to ask, his hand raised halfheartedly as if he just realized that they weren't in class.

"It isn't exactly a bad thing, since more often than not fighting in this manner yields a reasonable chance of victory even against fellow students." Narius nodded in acknowledgement. "It's just not the best method. Though other than that, most of you made quite a number of unique mistakes. Jaune here decided to attack to early instead of waiting for me to move out of the way. You could have landed at least one hit if you just waited half a second more, either by ramming with your shield, or nicking me midstep with that monster sword of yours. Try to be more patient when you're the one fighting, and use that strategic head of yours why don't you."

The blonde nodded obediently before Narius switched his gaze over to Ren.

"Ren actually did pretty good, trying to get me with a grapple instead of a hit, though when you took my arm, it felt a bit constrained." Narius gave the boy in green a once over before nodding to himself. "While you can't judge a fighter by size alone, you don't have the look of feel of a real grappler. Trying to surprise your opponent is all well and good, but it does nothing if you can't finish the job. You actually landed a hit, now you have to work on making those hits count."

Next one on the line up was Ruby.

"You would have gotten a few good ones in too if this was a normal fight, red, but it wasn't." He smiled at her cutely confused expression before explaining. "I would admit that I fought a bit harder with you than I did with Ren and Jaune but that was because you attacked while Ren was still nearby. I know he can take care of himself, but I took it up a notch to illustrate a point; don't force your opponents hand. If the skill levels are close enough, mental state is important. You give a Grimm a reason to fight harder and more often than not, they pull out the most unexpected of victories. This is also one of the reasons why Humanity is mostly on the defensive; if the fight is even, it's never a good idea to corner a monster."

"Speaking of mental states, that goes double for you, Sunshine." He ducked just before another blast of fire exploded in the air his head once occupied before catching the low kick aimed at his chin.

That leg was immediately retracted when it looked like Narius was having way too much fun copping a feel. "See? As much strength anger provides in the best of times, it always clouds your mind to some degree. That makes you predictable. Strong, and admittedly extremely fast, but that would count for nothing if you can't land a single hit." He raised his hand before she could argue. "As much endurance as you think you have, it doesn't matter. There is always a limit and when you hit that limit, you would lose."

Light rose dusted Yang's cheeks as she turned her face away, innocent indignance on her face as lilac glared at the crimson from the corner of her vision. "If this was a real fight, I would have won at the end of it."

"And that's what you don't get." Narius' own tone suddenly took to a shade darker. "If this was a _real_ fight, as real as any fight against those monsters, my first move would have been to put one of my swords straight through your skull."

A deathly silence hung in the air as all eyes were on Narius.

His words were a proclamation, a very real death threat directed at one of them, and the way he said it made them feel that there would be nothing they could do should he decide to carry it out.

At the back of everyone's mind they knew; it would have worked. Narius had reactions far beyond any normal student, if he could catch Ruby from within that sphere of death, he could have easily plunged one of his blades through Yang's eye as she changed at him. As powerful as Aura was, some injuries could not prevented and some areas could only be protected so much. It was rare, but not unheard of that a Hunter died after taking a direct hit to the throat or the eye, Aura be damned.

In an instant, what they thought was a friendly spar flashed into a battle where one of them could have easily been killed.

The only reason they were both still standing was because the victor thought it was in his best interest the loser lived.

"Alright, enough of the dark stuff. I'm sorry for doing that to you." Naruis suddenly bent a full ninety degrees as he bowed. "I just rather you all experience fighting a Specialist in a controlled environment rather than in real life."

"Wait, wait. You don't need to do that, right sis?" Ruby intervened, seeing as Yang was still caught up in the sudden change of mood. "Anyway, what's a Specialist."

"Someone who goes after humans, right?" Yang quickly found her footing as everyone else's eyes widened with dread. "You said we fought like we were trying to fight Grimm, that probably meant you fought like you were fighting people. How you know how to fight like that..." There was a pregnant silence as Narius readied his blades once more. "is probably none of our business. You're still a friend of ours and I'd say you're just trying to help us out."

"So that's it then." Ren said with a smile. "You're just trying to help us out just in case we run into a situation with another one of these 'specialists'? Thank you. I look forward to being under your care." As was tradition for them, Ren bowed low, the same way Narius did, though out of reverence and gratitude rather than contriteness.

"Oh, no you have it all wrong." Dark eyes looked upward to see the blond smile embarrassed. "I'm teaching you this since it makes Combat Classes a cinch!"

**AN**

**Better late than never but, Happy New Year...**

**Note: to everyone who could be bothered, sleep is important. I know it's mostly my fault but I learned that the hard way and I was bedridden for most of the new year. Sorry about that.**

**This, as I said last chapter would be the start of a new arc, so please understand that as of the moment it's mostly introductory work. How Kon's new body affects him, Aura and Reiatsu similarities and differences, Beacon's inner workings, and some abilities of the Spirits compared to some of the canon characters. Aside from general world building, I'll be using a few of these as the story progresses. I had fun writing Ren the most after episode 8 came out, and Ren was shown to be more of a straight man(comedy) than I expected.**

**Like the title said, this is more set up and just to pass the time. **

**On Kon's current repertoire of abilities, it its really specified in the manga other than he can turn really really muscular, he has increased reiatsu, and he can make projectors out of his eyes. As of the moment, it is basically the same here, but he is in a more human-like form. He technically still is a plushy, which allows quick healing or totally shrugging off internal damage. Ripping however is another story, but superficial wounds, as shown with Jaune, can be healed with enough Aura. As long as no one dismember's him, he will be fine. How he had come to possess Aura, will be discussed later. **

**On the differences between Aura and Reiatsu, you can check the respective wiki's for that. They are basically the same when it comes to strengthening the self and providing protection, but it looks like Reiatsu is more extensive in terms of abilities. The unique abilities of Aura as of late are that it can be monitored(power levels) something like a Halo shield bar but it does not fully protect a person. Reiatsu on the other hand, can outright disintegrate objects, totally reflect damage, and is as the name suggests, is sort of a pressure that could be felt for quite the distance with enough levels. As of the moment, Aura likely grants a the user capabilities at par with the Fullbringers.**

**Beacon's Admission System. **

**Okay, this was one of the things that got me thinking. Bart said they accepted only the best of the best, though its clear Cardin and Jaune don't fit that category. Ruby and Nora are both kind of crazy, and Blake is a whole new problem. Ruby, though an outlier, isn't exactly the model of a student, though for the sake of argument, I used her as a bar, the standard of admission if you will. Advanced combat skill is all well and good, but it looked to me that Ozpin let her in early because of the mindset she had instead of what she could do. She wanted to be a hero, and to really just help people. Weiss, from her motivations, wanted to change her company for the better, despite all she suffered at the hands of Faunus. Hell, I'm sure Blake was let it since she sincerely wanted humans to see faunus in a better light, and she would serve as a living example that faunus were not the monsters humanity believed them to be. This led me to the conclusion that before grades, they only brought in people who sincerely wanted to help.**

**How that will twist Cardin later is up to me ;P**

**And then there's the transcripts problem. Jaune said he cheated, but I can't really see the problem there when Blake didn't have any transcripts to begin with. She admits that she didn't have prior scholling, but in my experience, that doesn't matter as long as the tests are passed. That makes whatever that transcripts thing somewhat useless since it would probably be SOP to have a live testing of those capabilities through entrance tests, both practical and written. If those exist, things Blake could easily pass since she is book smart and very good in a fight, I have no idea how Jaune went through them without being disqualified, since he obviously has been doing badly in history and he can't fight to save another person's life.(Until Cardin, but he had help)**

**Long and short of it is, it made no sense to me, so I tried to remedy it the best I can.**

**Again, sorry it took so long to bring this out. I'm already started on the next one so please just be a bit more ****patient**

**This has been Proccit,**

**See Ya! =))**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 Daily Life **

* * *

_"So how's the food over there, sweetie?"_

Ichigo loved hearing that voice. Call it separation anxiety, an emotional crutch, or whatever else you wanted to call it, there was never any day he wouldn't answer when it was his mother's name on the scroll. There wasn't even much they talked about, just small conversations, her checking up on him and vise versa, but it was just so reassuring to be reminded time and time again that she was actually there. It reminded him that should anything happen, he would have a home to return to.

If push comes to shove, she was the one thing he would protect.

"Everything's fine. We're all doing much better than I thought, to be honest." He replied to her latest question with an unconscious shrug, one she obviously wouldn't able to see through a microphone. "We all managed to get into the same team, and the only class I'm having trouble with is Aura."

Not due to lack of trying, mind you. Aura and Reiatsu were similar in the smallest of quantities, but with the output he had, the differences were sorely apparent. This was the reason he had trouble making it look like his reiatsu was the same thing as everyone else's aura, much less controlling it the way everyone was supposed to be able to. Basic body reinforcement and attack augmentation was fine but limiting his own reserves enough so that it could be recorded by his scroll was something he had a bit of trouble with.

And he had been practicing with a sensor Kaiser brought for him even before classes officially began.

_"You always had a bit too much of an attitude, even as my little boy. I hope you aren't giving your professors a hard time, or I might have to punish you myself."_ She giggled over the phone. He returned with nervous laugh, memories of when _she _tried to train him on the forefront of his mind. Yeah, not the best of days. "_Did you make any new friends, over there?"_

"Well, the people here are something. Jaune, and Pyrrha, are the same as always and I set things straight with Weiss." He explained in an offhanded tone, with underlying tenderness even Zangetsu could pick up. "Of course, Nora's still as crazy as you remember, I can't see how Ren, he's new, deals with her. The rest of them..."

It was the week after initiation, their first weekend of the semester and while most days were tedious as well as tiring, the first week was informative. He was never the most sociable of people, and though he had mellowed out, he was never the type to reach out to people... if it didn't involve a life or death situation that is. Still, those around him were as friendly, or at least curious, as college students got and that saved him the trouble. The leader of team Ruby being a very inquisitive little button and Jaune suddenly _asking _ to intensify his training had nothing to do with getting to know the other two teams better.

Nope, those where definitely unrelated.

Ruby was a bundle of joy to be with; energetic and contagious cheerfulness packed in the child prodigy. The child truly deserved to be there, if not by the merit of her skills, than at least by the child's amazing ability to empathize with just about anyone. She truly was the heart of her team, as well as a suitable foil to Weiss even during the worst of times... no pun intended. Speaking of which, Yang was every bit as rambunctious and playful, though more often than not that involved the 'playful' he was more used to. That wasn't exactly such a bad thing per se, he was used to worse after all, though the fact that she targeted his team exclusively was being annoying. She was a good person, and an even better sister if all Ruby's affection was something to be trusted, and he could respect that.

Aside from the sisters, the two silent types were great company if he ever wanted a change of pace. Ren, a man he would always respect as the only other person who could keep up with Nora, was the definition of a calm, cool, and collected guy, ready to be there whenever someone needed a person. He never lost his composure once the entire time he spent with the boy, and that said a lot about his temperament considering their sizable group of friends. He was the solid rock under their team, no matter how great Pyrrha was, how crazy Nora got, or how... ugh, melodramatic Jaune could be. Blake was equally welcoming, in her strange silent sort of way, when he visited her in the library. She wasn't exactly much of a talker, and that was comparing her with Ren, but she was animated about books and that gave them enough common ground for the moment.

Weiss was warmer, thanks to Ruby's influence no doubt, Nora hasn't destroyed a major building yet, Pyrrha was satisfied with their last duel, and Jaune hasn't broken down like a child yet. All in all...

"It's been nice." Ichigo nodded, again more for his benefit than anyone else. If anyone stumbled into the room, the first thing they would notice would be the boy dreamily gazing out the window, a smile almost _never _found on his face shining brighter than the sun above. If only the joy he felt wasn't that short lived... "By the way, mom. When do you think you can visit?"

Internally, he was at war with himself, but years of battle had hardened him enough to keep his emotions in check at the very least. Not a sliver of nervousness escaped through his voice when he asked the fateful question, and of course, though the phone, his mother would simply think this was a query of a dutiful son who missed his mother. She couldn't see the scowl that marred his expression, or how his fists were clenched tightly enough to form angry red crescents on the skin of his palm, in a rare bout frustration. It wouldn't do anyone good to be burdened with what he had known, or at least suspected, and he was sure as hell that his mother was the last person he wanted to involve in this sort of situation.

Bless her heart, but he wasn't sure if she was ready for something like this.

Thankfully her reply hadn't changed since the last time he asked her. _"Sweetie, I told you, I'm a little busy right now. I promise to see you during the Festival, but other than that, you'll have to fly over here if you need me."_ Her voice was painfully apologetic, the tone of a mother who had no time for her child and hated herself for it.

He knew she was busy: ever since she managed to re-enter the world of Huntsmen and Huntresses, that was only to be expected. It was doubly difficult now that they had to keep her identity under wraps as much as possible, considering how the possibility of crossing paths with friends and enemies was supposedly very high. That was a can of worms none of them were willing to open. In between doing missions, keeping clients from figuring out too much, as well as training in skills she 'remembered' after a time, there was just too much work to be done that she couldn't spare much time to visit him just because she wanted to see him.

But everyone knew that if she could, she would be at his side in a heartbeat.

"_You've been asking more often, Ichi, is something the matter?"_ Her worry drew mixed feelings within him to stir as well. "_If you're having any problems, you can always talk to Mommy, you know?"_

One the one hand, the child that would forever stay with him was overjoyed at the prospect of having his mother fussing over him. No matter how small it was, that was a part of him that stayed, going as far as to manifest within Zangetsu's less than unstable personality. Maybe that was why he always seemed to be on his best behavior whenever his mother was around. The child longed to have his mother at his side, a warm presence forever welcomed when countless years of that tranquil comfort were already taken from him. But the warrior who spoke of his reason, the noble hero who protected all insisted that he be the shield and protect her from things that had troubled him. It hurt this side of him to mar his mother's face with the shade of worry, but he would rather that he be the reason for her pain than share his overwhelming burden with her.

"Everything is fine, mom. I just miss you." He wasn't lying as much as he was telling the truth. He really did miss her, and nothing was exactly wrong...

Yet

What she didn't know, couldn't hurt her. Right?

"_Awww, my little boy is still so cute~" _Thankfully no one was there to see his face take the shade of the sunset. His mother seemed to be gushing through the phone to notice the uncomfortable tremor in his voice, and for that he was eternally thankful. "_Oh, I'm about to go out again with Nozomi. Talk to you more later, baby. Remember, Mommy loves you!"_

"I love you too mom." He heard her blow a kiss into the phone before the line went dead. With eyes grave as death itself, he faced the door. He didn't need to hear them knock to know that there were others on the other side of that door. "Come in."

"I don't understand why you are so intent on keeping conversations with your mother private. Even Zangetsu could view what is happening through your eyes when we are back within your inner world." Brennan entered, slight humor tinting his voice as he took strides with the majesty of an emperor despite keeping his nose in a book. "That is not to say that you deserve no privacy, I just find it unnecessary that you decide to send all of us away and lock the door now of all times."

As usual, the eldest spirit struck the nail on the head with his query. There was absolutely no reason to keep them away from him if ever his mother decided to call, for quite a number of reasons. First and foremost was that they were essentially the same person, ergo there they couldn't exactly say anything without, technically disparaging themselves in the process. That aside, teasing in itself was out of the question since all four without exemption have tasted the wrath of an irate Aki, and one of the easiest ways to garner her ire was, strangely enough, to tease Ichigo. One of the most important though, was the fact that Ichigo would only act negatively if ever they took a jab directly or indirectly involving his mother, and that would be a problem of all of them.

It was puzzling. Even when he was in high school, the crudest of insults never seemed to phase him no matter what they might have contained. Sure, he didn't like being insulted, but unless it came from someone close to him, it never really carried any weight. That changed ever so slightly after his mother was reunited with him. Call him a bastard or a fucker and he would just brush it off like water off a duck's back or an irritating insect buzzing in his ear. Now if anyone calls him a son of a bitch, they would walk away with at least three major injuries... assuming they were able to stand at all.

Ichigo was safe from any jabs from them, and since there was no need to actually keep the content private, there was no sense in throwing them out and locking the door.

The only problem was, that line of reasoning is only valid if he intended to hide the conversation.

"Where are Narius and Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked, his own voice caught between a strange crossroad of relief and exasperation at his spirit's nonchalant attitude. "And what is that?'

"The two are being occupied as you requested, and this..." He held the book up, azure eyes finally meeting amber before his voice was caught in his throat. "...this doesn't matter at the moment."

Brennan seemed to stare long and hard at the boy that wielded him, but Ichigo knew that this was not the case. The Emperor of the Quincy was not gawking at the boy in question, rather what was behind him.

To put it in so little words, the room was a mess. To fully describe the detail of ruin that overtook the room was a bit more difficult, but it would not be inaccurate to say that it was scene straight from a horror movie.

Everything was all over the place, from casual wear to uniforms, from books to stationery, the entire room seemed that a maelstrom crashed through and obliterated any sense of order that once existed. But that wasn't the worst of it yet.

The room was wanton destruction concentrated in an enclosed area, and everything save the two boys standing in the middle was consumed by ruin. The sheets that littered the room did so in tatters, large gaping tears made in the fabric as several articles of clothing hung on several shards of wood, ripped and useless. Books were shredded and rent asunder, and pages, notes, fluttered around like leaves caught in the autumn breeze. Their very beds lay shattered, mattresses gutted while splinters of wood peppered the ruined floor. Again, that still was not the worst of it.

The walls were gouged, long trailing trenches spanning the lengths of concrete as if they had been caused by beasts. Craters dotted the ruined floor, evidences of struggling prey and a predator with far too much strength found all around. From long and deep gashes to light rapping of a claw, from shallow footfalls that left cracks on the surface to holes that revealed just how thick the concrete of the room was, if not a battle, there surely there was _something _in the room once, on the hunt for what, none could say. More than the destruction, the senseless vandalism, these signs of savagery hinted at the presence of a monster, one that knew and was unafraid of the team that dwelt in that very room.

When a monster can face gods without fear, how even lingering doubts remain idle?

"Who did this?" Brennan spoke with the severity of the power he once wielded, and despite the fact that he was speaking to a boy he approved as superior, it was a command that refused to be brushed aside. "_What _did this?"

Ichigo said nothing, simply gesturing with his chin towards the far wall he was facing. He wasn't surprised when wisps of azure began to bubble under his weapon's skin as the form of an emperor stood ramrod straight. Unlike how the younger man reacted, Brennan did not begin to tremble with barely bridled rage rather than anything else. The Quincy Emperor always had more patience than the Hero of Two Wars, though the power in the room remained just as suffocating as it did whenever _Ichigo_ was to exert his impressive strength.

If Hollows still existed, then even a Vasto Lorde would be crushed under the sheer pressure of he power in the room.

"They will need to see this." Brennan didn't bother to turn before heading towards the door, anything in his way trampled underfoot as he reached for the knob. "Don't do anything rash in the mean time."

"What more can I do?" Ichigo deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Get Kon in here too while you're at it. That bastard has a lot to answer for."

And with that, Brennan soundlessly left the room, leaving Ichigo to continue to stare at what was on the wall.

Blood.

It was horrendously written, each character formed with liquid lifeblood that still descended from the walls and gouges within the concrete itself, meant to realize fear in whoever beheld the cryptic message.

Some would see it and say that it could have written in the hand of a broken driven mad by darkness, or a dying soul fueled by desperation, or maybe even by the beasts themselves and their twisted intelligence.

But he knew what this was, and more importantly, who it was from.

For without all the fanfare, the gory aesthetic, and the abounding destruction, on the wall was a simple message.

**Did you find a sense of humor?**

_I'm so going to kill him._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_Deep breaths, Blake... Come on, let's try to think about this logically..._

Blake had a dilemma.

_...The first weekend of the semester. As most of the classes are still orienting the students and not much is expected of the student at this point. Isn't this supposed to be a Godsend?..._

She prided herself at maintaining composure at any and all times, and in truth there was very little that could cause her alarm. She had all the knowledge, tact, and patience to thrive within an underground organisation, so-called terrorists, up until the point where no one would refute the fact that she was close to leading the majority of the organisation. She was tactical, both in an out of the battlefield, and pragmatic when it seemed to be beneficial for her; easily dealing with day to day tasks, as well as momentous decisions with cool efficiency tempered with a warm and gentle hand. She was almost impossible to fluster given normal circumstances, and that included times she was infiltrating some of the most secure facilities in the world.

Of course, these were hardly normal circumstances.

_...There is really no reason not to go... There is no rule governing how a student spends time outside of classes as long as it doesn't involve breaking the law... or getting caught..._

There were exceptions, as with every rule, and this was hers. In the end, what allowed her some of her most impressive and inspiring actions to take root within her mind in the first place served as her bane. Let it be known that in the end, it was still her passion that fueled her. It was passion that allowed her to climb the ranks of the White Fang, and admittedly, allowed her to dirty her hands with the blood of humanity in the process. Yet, it was passion that allowed her heart to burn so brightly to her cause that she had been blind to the shadows casted in her wake. It was passion that allowed her to fight for her cause till the bitter end, and then it was passion that demanded she leave lest she lose her fire for justice.

..._But what would they think?... I could still get caught and... No... They wouldn't... not for something like this. But there's still a chance..._

Now she had found herself in a position where her passion was her greatest enemy.

Literature was proving to be her bane.

Not many knew of her past, but even when she was at her most peaceful, it was her books that served as her closest companions. When her life fell apart and tore at the seams, it was a group of bounded pages, novels that barely survived the blaze that consumed most of her very home, that kept her grounded and gave her hope. When she was in doubt, tales of heroism and self exploration, in the mental sense of course, were there to affirm her stand, that she fought for what was right. And though she knew that she had the will to carry on doing what she knew was right, it was those stories, those wondrous adventures, cryptic mysteries, heart wrenching romances, and hysterical comedies, that made up who she was.

As a child, those portals were what gave her respite, and even now they continue to serve as windows into other worlds, where peace can be attained and right does win in the end. These were her looking glasses, where she might be able to bear witness to the struggles of others and peer into the humanity inherent in all sentient beings, whether those creatures be real or imagined, human in itself of even faunus. These books she brought with her were mementos of a life long past, remnants she chose to bring for the very fact that they were the only ones worth bringing.

Her life till recently could be summarized in so few words; Bibliophile, and proud member of the White Fang.

Now that one was discarded, it was only natural that the remaining title took precedence.

And therein lay the problem.

_Everything will go to hell in a hand basket too quickly... Yang would deny me, if only for Ruby's sake and that thrice damned Schnee would be glaring from her ivory tower... But I can't miss this perfect chance!_

She knew her... obsession... was not one accepted by most, that is to say that only a select minority appreciated her taste. She said select minority, when in reality there were quite a number of people who shared her interests, it was just that most were wise enough not to admit to such indulgences when in the company of others. She doubted than anyone in her team could be counted within that minority.

Well, that wasn't exactly accurate. Yang was a likely candidate, though if she were to admit to such activities in front of their young, impressionable leader, things wouldn't end well.

She didn't even want to think how Schnee and said leader would react if they caught scent of her collection.

_If only Ruby didn't have anything planned for today..._

She loved her leader like a little sister, she really did. Despite the short time they had spent together, she found that it was almost impossible to linger in the light air of 'happy' that stuck to Ruby like the cloak she wore and not be drawn into the little girl. Blake wouldn't be loathed to admit that Ruby Rose was her first friend in Beacon, and quite possibly her first _human _friend in her entire lifetime. If it was any other time, if Ruby decided that they would be having some sort of team building excursion, at any other time, she would have gone and humored the little girl on principle alone. Now she was torn, between going to pursue her first love or nurturing the new affection she had with her friends.

Going into town without her friends would surely break the little girl's heart, especially since she couldn't exactly say that the reason she was going was because of what the _unenlightened_ called... smut.

Yang would more than likely be accepting, though she wouldn't be surprised if the blonde bombshell had some... material of her own hidden somewhere.

Schnee was repressed, and even if she assumed that she had some way of _unwinding,_ it would be more of a surprise if she _didn't _condemn such so-called inappropriate pastimes.

She didn't even want to imagine how Ruby would react to all this.

Not like she had a chance, seeing how Ruby chose that moment to bound into the room, filing the air with her own excited energy, and once again she thought about the choice she was about to make.

The certainty of the past or the glory of the future?

"Hey Blake, are you ready to go yet?" The child looked up at her with eyes filled with expectation. "I mean, this is gonna be the best day ever! We're all finally going out on a day of fun as TEAM RUBY!" She threw her fist in the air energetically, all but possessed in her excitement and pride.

"Um... Ruby, I..."

"Sorry, it's just that I'm so excited for today." With the speed she was known for, Ruby had her hands of Blake's shoulders, pulling her close so that the little girl's bright countenance filled her vision. "I know that Vale isn't exactly the most thrilling place on Remnant, but my dad said you could do everything here! We could go out and see a movie, browse some library, prank call from the transit-thingy, maybe shop for some clothes, school supplies... and weapon mods, or maybe hit that nice buffet somewhere on main street, or check out that skydiving place hidden in the eastern district, probably relax in the middle of forever fall before working out with any Grimm, um... Grimm enough to take us on, ooohh..."

For a moment Ruby stopped flipping through a small notepad that found its way into her hands after she released her and stared at one line that seemed particularly interesting. "We are _definitely _going to stop by at this new water park... though I don't know why they would try and make an entire place about taking a bath. "Soap Land" seems to be an awfully funny name, but water slides beat the beach any day, I'd say!"

"Wait a minute Ruby." For a moment, making a decision would have to wait. "Maybe that last one's a bit..."

"Hey, Ruby is Blake... am I interrupting something?" Thank all that was holy Ichigo chose that moment to interrupt the conversation where it was. She didn't really have the mental faculties to explain to her little leader why going to her 'water park' was a bad idea.

"No, everything's fine." Blake intoned a bit too firmly, fighting off the vestiges of color that tinted her cheeks before her expression returned to the characteristic neutrality she was known for. "What can I do for you, Ichigo?"

To his credit, only slivers of confusion seeped through the stoic mask that was his own characteristic scowl. If she had anything to say about it, he was fighting the urge to ask about what they were conversion about, though it seemed that etiquette suddenly won over as he shook his head to rid himself of the thought and began to speak. "Uh... are you still going with me to deliver this thing?" He asked cautiously before waving what looked to be a large sealed envelope in his right hand.

If she was the least bit surprised, she didn't show it. She could feel her countenance hardening, keeping intact the cold neutrality she had grown to wear over the years, as inwardly she began make sense of the situation. As of the moment, the package itself was irrelevant, the fact that he asked her was a matter of concern in itself. She hadn't really known the boy as much as she knew her team, and as that was to be expected, she didn't even know her team very well. It was the very first week of classes after all. All she really knew about him was that he frequented the library when he had the time, and if they ever did sit close enough to converse, they didn't.

It was a quiet relationship, and though they were somewhat comfortable around each other, it was a quiet atmosphere neither wanted to break. Therefore, it was quite the impossibility that he would ask her to do anything, when the only words they ever spoke to each other were the mandatory words of introduction. There wasn't any who could ask for him either, since those who spoke to her as of late all belonged to her own team, Ruby and Yang to be specific, or some of the professors.

And even then, none of them have ever addressed_ her_ specifically.

She was just about to affirm the fact that she had no idea about what he was talking about when something strange caught her eye. On the envelope was an image, a motif that she could not exactly understand but it was still familiar. Like a friend who had changed with the passing of years, it struck chords in her, played music she could no longer name but sung a melody that, somehow, she could relate to. It was no Dragonfly, but the Bird of Paradise etched into the seal of the envelope seemed to call to her, to demand that she at least take the chance.

So she did.

"We are bringing this... to the plaza, correct?" She began cautiously, easily picking up the surprise that suddenly overturned Ichigo's own mask of indifference.

He mumbled something under his breath, cursing a pervert if she could make it out correctly before nodding. "Professor Kaiser..." He all but spat the name with unwarranted anger, before reigning it in. "said something about asking you to help me with this, you were supposed to know the exact location, while he explicitly said that I would recognize the recipient when I saw them. Really helpful stuff." He grumbled sarcastically.

"He told me that he told you more but that isn't much information to go on. I did agree to it though, therefore it can't be helped." She tried to keep the excitement hidden in her voice as she directed as much disappointment at Ichigo as she could muster. With a resigned shake of the head, she turned apologetically to a slightly disappointed Ruby. "Ruby, I'm sorry but it seems that I have prior engagements to attend to."

Her heart almost broke when her once animated leader cast her gaze down to the floor dejectedly. "Hey..." Liquid gold met hazy silver as she laid a gentle hand on the younger girl's shoulder. "As soon as I'm done with whatever we have to do, I'll catch up to you as long as you stay in town. Just send me a message and I'll be there before you know it, okay?"

With a smile enough to give anyone a toothache, Ruby gave them one final nod and muffled her goodbyes in a flurry of petals, leaving Blake to stare at Ichigo with an amused smirk on her face. "Come on then, I still have a book signing to get to."

Sashaying out of the room, Blake smile to herself as she held her favorite book to her chest. She would probably regret this later, that is if what her instincts were telling her were somehow mistaken, but for now she would relish her victory.

_Why choose one when you can have both?_

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo was... for lack of a better term, confused.

And that had to do with a lot of things.

Mostly though, he had no ideal how he ended up in his current position.

"Exactly why are we standing in line?" There was obvious confusion present, though irritation and tightly bound anger laced his voice as he regarded the girl beside him.

Blake on her part didn't seem phased at the question, or the menacing way he posed it. If anything, she was angry that he was asking her in the first place. "We're at the plaza, just as agreed." She huffed impatiently. At least they agreed that waiting in line wasn't the best way to pass the time. "You're the one who's supposed to recognize whoever it is we're giving this to, you could always look for them and allow me to wait in line in peace."

"And if you must know, I'm waiting in line so that I could have my book signed." She waved said article of literature in his face before facing the back of the person in front of her, who happened to be just the last in a long, long, _long_ line of people.

They did reach the plaza, and what should have been a barely populated square on any other day was filled to the brim with all types of people. Faunus and humans alike stood there, waiting patiently in what looked like a mass of people, an entire community based on... well something. It was like one of those conventions he used to attend at either Karin's or Yuzu's prodding, either one wholly based on 'otaku' culture, in the looses of terms an anime convention, or some new thing Yuzu suddenly got dragged into, the most recent being Don Kanonji's latest show in their very own Karakura Town.

Yes, the exact same one where he had to purify a hollow that damned wannabe accidentally created.

He could deduce that it had something to do with the book Blake kept close, but it should have been unreasonable that this entire thing was based on one single person out to sign a book. Because, after everything was all said and done, that was exactly what he was doing; he was waiting in line with Blake, so that she could have her booked signed. But that shouldn't have made any sense given the number of people. Ichigo himself had his fare share of books signed, and it stood to reason that no matter how popular an author was, it wasn't very likely that enough people to fill up an entire town square would attend.

Oh, who was he kidding? If that idiot could muster such a large crowd, it was more than likely that some other idiot would be able to do the same.

So with grim acceptance in his heart, Ichigo watched the crowd, the obscenely massive line, before him and pondered if it was a good idea to annihilate each and every one of them for the sake of getting this little chore over with. That is, only when he realized that unleashing his strength would disintegrate not only the massive crowd, but the girl beside him as well as whoever it was they were supposed to meet and deliver the package to, did he relent and clench his teeth.

_It's as good a time as any I suppose..._

"What is so special about that book anyway?" Apparently, those were not the right words to say, as practically all the animated chatter around them died to give way to a terse silence. Indignation, disbelief, and a hint of betrayal smoldered behind Blake's golden orbs that if he was honest with himself, eerily mirrored Zangetsu's own wrathful gaze when he refused to accept the Hollow as a part of his true blade.

A quick glance around revealed scandalized gazes from all directions, ostracizing daggers being flung at him from the eyes of people as if they were beholding the form of a monster, no, a savage rather than that of a teenage boy. In the silence, an oppressive pressure began to build around him, not one of power, but of foreign rejection and outright condescension, and it was suffocating in its strength.

He looked back to Blake to see that her gaze had relented, if the absence of pure emotion could be called that, and at his confusion she queried in a calm rasp. "Professor Kaiser told you to give this to someone in this area at this time, correct?" He could feel the pure disbelief radiating from her, and from everyone in the crowd for that matter, as she massaged her temples. "And you did this _without _knowing what this is?"

It would seem that he was about to find out just how popular that particular book was.

"Very well then, Philistine..." Golden orbs gained a characteristic sense of mischief, one that was unsettlingly akin to another person, well a cat actually, who would relentlessly tease him. The familiar chill pulsed from within him, a cold wrapping around his heart as his own amber eyes tried to find any refuge from predatory gold.

"Is that really necessary?"

"It is time someone educated you one the finer points of art. "She totally ignored his protest before presenting the book before him. With the reverence of an acolyte carrying the Holy Scripture, she opened it, and grabbed the back of his head before forcing his eyes into the first few pages. He was about to resist, really he was, it was just that he feared that any resistance would force her to slam the book into his face instead of vice versa.

So he let himself be _guided_ without issue.

A small part of him that dwelt at the back of his head thanked whoever replaced the Soul King that Zangetsu wasn't there. He would definitely enjoy this too much.

"We will not waste time going about this chronologically, but this is Ninja's of Love, agreed by most to be the Magnum Opus of its genre." There was a bit too much veneration in her tone for his taste, but he reasoned that the faster she would finish, the faster he would be able to wait for whoever it was in peace. "Written by the D.F Risa, it is a perfect blend of action, romance, humor, and drama. That is the only review any true savant of literature would dare bestow upon it as words would fail to do it any true justice. Read it, appreciate it, be moved by it, and be enlightened. I guarantee that even the dedication will garner your attention."

Unceremoniously, she pushed him out of the line, and the people around him moved as one as if he were stricken by the plague.

Really, it was more than a little creepy.

"Just remember to give it back when I call for you. Keep your scroll ready at all times." And with that, she shooed him off to the corner with the book still in his hands. The very crowd began parting before him until his eyes caught a small area where others sat and read the very same book.

The reactions of the people seated in the quiet corner of the plaza were varied, though all had in common the intensity of emotion. Some were in tears while the grins of others blinded all who beheld them, some trembled in anger while others watched the pages rapt in anticipation. He didn't know what was more amazing at this point, that the people around him were so obsessed with this thing that it was indeed frightening, or that they already had protocols in the case that those they considered outsiders were to venture into their ranks.

They had a method of proselytizing for goodness sake!

He took a seat in an empty chair before scanning the first few pages.

_At least I'm not standing around doing nothing I suppose... the dedication huh?_

It was there, as Blake said, just before the title page within the book itself, printed in font that was neither flashy nor eye catching. He would have simply breezed through it since the very point of dedications was to send a message of thanks, and seeing as that message couldn't be for him, there was no reason to waste his time. Still, Blake wouldn't have called his attention to it if it wasn't interesting, and from one bibliophile to another, he thought to humor her if just this once.

He almost wished he hadn't.

To all who sufferer with lost hearts: The Hollow,

May you find joy when one gives you another.

To whoever battles the darkness: The Balancer,

May you never stray from your path of honor.

To those who stand in the inbetween: The Outcasts,

May you find solace in a family as I have found in mine.

To those who bare the weight of worlds: The Protector,

May all happiness on this small Remnant be thine.

And to you who do not understand: The Innocent,

May you never realize what is different.

It was, to be perfectly fair, a very peculiar poem, written in freeverse when his sensibilities preferred the Shakespearean or even the Haiku. It was intriguing for a dedication, a well mixed combination of cryptic and poetic, and though it did not exactly relate to the narrative itself, it seemed like a unique way to dedicate her book to those who would read it. And that was probably why those who read it loved it so much, since right after reading the dedication, they would think that the work of art in their hands was written for them.

On an even deeper sense, it seemed to appeal to the world of Remnant in general, a poem that must have perfectly captured the entire world as it was, and as it currently is. There are those that fight, for whatever they belief they hold in their hearts while there were those who were lost, broken by the world that they had nothing to keep their hearts from being broken. There were those cast into the darkness of the night, besieged from all sides by monsters and men, though on the brighter side, Togetherness abounded, proving to be one if not the greatest deterrent in the world of beasts. Perhaps the source of greatest relief was that there still existed Innocence, that no matter how dark the world of Remnant had become, there were still those who lived untouched by the darkness.

It showed that the light still shone, and that it was possible to make it that no one had to fear the dark.

But they would have been wrong.

_Finally shifted from reading to writing, huh?_

A quick glance at the back of the book told him everything he needed to know, just as a strange sense of uncomfortable nostalgia pulsed warmly from his chest. Bittersweet memories melded together with mild disgust as he looked once more to the package he had yet to deliver, luckily still safely hidden within the supposedly clean envelope that held the emblem in the form of a Strelitzia. He had to keep himself from throwing it away as soon as he realized what it was, opting to go for his scroll and tell Blake their job was practically over. The sooner it was over the better in his opinion, he had more pressing matters to attend to, Kon's willingness to squeal aside.

Or maybe he didn't even need to talk to the modsoul at this point. After all, nothing was stopping him from finding another source of information.

First things first though, he would have to get rid of the metaphorical bomb he was forced to carry.

"Blake, how long would it take you to get to the lounge area?"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

_He better have a good reason for doing this._

Blake Belladonna was _pissed. _She wasn't the type to react explosively when things went amiss but a girl could only take so much before she found her limit.

And this was the day Blake Belladonna found hers.

She didn't even want to think about the details that led her to such heights of frustration, so she did the next best thing aside from turning to her books for comfort.

She went out to eat.

Aside from diving into the different world kept between the pages, food has always been a welcome release and as degrading as it was to admit it, she had the same penchant for fish as he heritage implied. It was a guilty pleasure on her part, reveling in something so animalistic, so _base _when she and all she stood for demanded that she behave in a manner opposite to what slanders humanity has rained upon their kind. How those who called them beasts would have loved to know that some of them actually _were_ when it came to certain things.

More often than not, those impulses would be curbed quite easily, promptly crushed under the steel that was her will. She indulged herself from time to time, but never has the will to simply gorge herself to the point of bursting ever been this powerful. And between the choice of being a slob, or being a murderer, she would say that it was a no brainier.

She was angry after all, and if she would ever hear another person say that-

Whatever line of thought she had was derailed when the subtle smell of seafood wafted into her nose.

She had arrived.

Other than the library at Beacon, this was her safe haven whenever she needed to enter the city, either due to another infiltration mission or when she had to go on a book run. It was a simple place, so small and tucked away from the world behind an alleyway that it was almost impossible to find unless one frequented the area. The walls of the stall were confining and, if she was honest with herself, quite shabby but all that ever did was give the small shop a warm and cozy feel, especially when she could watch the chef as he prepared her personal favorites. He was always a nice man, the fact that he knew how to make a mean seafood yakisoba with extra tuna mixed in did nothing to hinder her from coming for seconds every time.

Yes, this place, her culinary Holy Land, the very first branch of A Simple Wok, was a simple noodle store.

But she would cut her own ears off if it wasn't a damn good one.

With anticipation she managed to raise a hand and part the curtain that hung before her, taking a seat and once more savoring the sweet scent of freshly made noodles before her. No amount of culinary skill could replicate the serenity she felt when she inhaled the perfume of the feast that lay before her. For all it's imperfections, it was food she found solace in when she had lost her first love; when the fires that pushed her to fight for her revolution were doused, when she was awakened to the reality that was set before her. It was those noodles that warmed her heart when she realized that she was becoming just as monstrous, just a soulless as the corrupt they fought, and the monsters they united against.

She knew the master of the kitchen, and with a simple glance and nod, he set to work preparing her feast.

She was a Huntress in Training, and one of the best White Fang operatives when she had left the organisation, but even she would admit that her trained eyes somewhat failed to capture all the master did when preparing her food. The noodles sizzled in a delectable crescendo as the scent of various spices tempted her enhanced sense was all she could register before her food was set before her. She never really figured out if the man behind the counter, one who looked too old and too kind, was once a powerful Huntsman; nothing else would explain how he could whip up scrumptious meals in six seconds flat unless he had some form of Semblance, but that particular concern would have to wait.

Her monstrous bowl of oh so wrong _euphoria_ was just about ready to eat.

This was it, her only other vice laid before her and ready for the taking, but before she could immerse herself in the rapture that was her meal, she had one more ritual to perform.

Deliberately, almost as if in paranoia, her gazed drifted to the left and she took in the sight of empty seats all the way till the end of the relatively small stall. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she pushed aside the curtains once more and craned her neck, looking cautiously over her shoulder to see the opening of the alleyway. The main street still bustling and lively in contrast to the quiet hideaway that was the empty path leading towards the simple stall.

The coast was clear.

With a smile that was almost too feral to be considered human, she eyed her meal with a certain gleam in her eyes, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue before opening her maw wide.

_TIME TO EAT!_

Like a cat in mid-pounce, her head flew forward intent on consuming the veritable banquet-

"Four largest ones, please." She gripped the wood of the counter with such nervous strength that cracks formed trying to stop herself mid lunge, golden eyes darting around, searching for the source of the dangerous, almost seductive, rasp. "Oh and please just serve them one at a time, I like my noodles hot, thanks."

The sound of a bowl rattling as it steadied itself rung from her left, and suddenly the form of a black figure seemed to materialize before the obscene amount of food behind it.

She could barely make out the figure dressed in black and while, almost in a strange parody of her own, as arms hidden in sleeves rose to reveal pale hands that grasped the pair of disposable chopsticks.

Her, as surely it was a female beside her, choice of dress was vaguely familiar. The hooded garment she wore had large and long sleeves that could easily envelope her arms in cloth, while the hem of her robe fell just below her thighs, where long shapely legs seemed to trail endlessly even as she sat on the quaint stool. White trim lined the midnight robes, contrasting the dark shade with lines of white when it dawned upon her that with the exception of some details, this was a more elegant version of the night yukata she wore.

He throat caught when she turned to her, eyes hidden from her sight by the hood's shadow certainly meeting her own while the stranger's mouth shifted from a deep-set frown to a hard line.

"Don't stop on my account. I've lived with messier eaters." Her voice was as dead as the empty alley behind them as slender fingers deftly divided the chopsticks with an audible click. "Oh, and close your mouth, why don't you? You'll let the flies in."

She didn't care how much it would hurt, and with the red reaching her ears she shut her mouth as fast as she possibly could. She could feel her other pair press her bow against her head in shame, but she didn't really care at the moment, her luminescent blush so radiant that she dare say it lit up the room. This was precisely what she wanted to avoid whenever she checked if the coast was clear.

Only the hushed slurping of the other woman filled the stall as she ate, Blake herself already broke off her chopsticks and savored her meal with nary a sound. She wouldn't be able to enjoy her food to the fullest after that little incident, and like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she tried to make herself as small as possible in the presence of another.

If only she was a little less shaken, she would have thought to question exactly how the stranger managed to appear, even as she surveyed her surroundings literally moments before.

It was only a few minutes later, Blake finished with her own meal while the woman had burned through half of her own order, that she was snapped out of her reverie by the telltale sound of pages being turned. Curiosity briefly scuffled with embarrassment, but as was in her nature she found her eyes drifting ever so slowly towards the mysterious woman. Those same golden orbs widened comically as her breath escaped unbidden from her throat.

"Ninja's of Love, the very first special hardbound edition." A kindred spirit found, her lips suddenly loosened and the words fell through the cracks. "You came from the signing too?"

Eyes hidden from her turned from the pages and she could only assume they met hers as the stranger's expression shifted from simple apathy to thoughtful contemplation. "You could say that."

"May I?"

The stranger tilted her head for the moment before her chin dipped in affirmation, handing the book to Blake's trembling fingers. "One of my personal favorites, please be careful." She noted, mistaking the tremor in her waiting hands for something other than the reverence and excitement she felt.

"I wouldn't dream of it." With a lighter touch she turned the pages, skimming through the rarer book and idle noted several difference. "There are only three of these in the world. How did you get your hands on this?" She questioned more in awe than actual curiosity. "Sorry, I don't mean to pry. It's just that this edition is legendary."

"I don't mind if it's for an enthusiast." The stranger smiled, sensing a kindred spirit in the her she hoped. "Though I would say there are more than three. If I heard correctly, there were supposedly nine, but three managed to make their way into the market." She extended her pale hand, and obediently Blake returned the book.

With practiced ease, she sifted through the book before turning to a page, one that showed what looked like a diamond with a large pointed cross in the middle of the shape. Under it was the signature of the author, the name 'Drea Filius Risa' written in beautiful calligraphy. "These were supposed to be gifts to several special people, though three of them thought to make some quick lien when it took off."

To receive something from the author herself and then just callously give it away? That was an unthinkable sin in Blake's eyes, though not one she wouldn't take advantage of. Heaven knew that if only she had the funds necessary, she would have bought one of those copies when they suddenly appeared on the market that one fateful day. That didn't stop her from voicing her disbelief though.

"Their loss." Her fingers traced the strange symbols, eyes staring critically and demanding it divulge to her its meaning. "What I would give to have a copy like this..."

"So you're a die hard fan, I suppose." She commented thoughtfully, placing a finger to her chin. "I didn't really think the lines would be as long as they were. Just goes to show, life can still surprise you."

"I can get the fact that there were more people than expected, I really do, but really did the signing have to happen today?!" She roared in exasperation, uncaring now that she had found a kindred spirit in the strange girl. She wouldn't judge her for it, she was sure, as that was the nature of those who partook in this particular genre of literature.

Blake slumped over the counter in defeat. "Look at me complaining over what is Risa's first time here in Vale, I should be happy she came here in the first place, right?" Her face twisted into a grimace as she stared hard at her empty bowl, her mind seriously considering a second, and even bigger, helping. "Stupid Ichigo."

The last bit she mumbled under her breath, but that didn't seem to stop the one beside her from picking it up.

"Oh?" Immediately the golden orbs darted to her left, called by the sound of the slight amusement that colored her companion's voice. "You had a companion with you? I wonder where she is now, you came together with her, correct?"

Blake eyed the woman hesitantly, musing as to how Ichigo would have reacted if he was there to hear that one. "Uh, no. He was a boy actually, and it was because of him that I had to-"

She was quickly cut off when the woman humphed, what was once a hard line now a smirk that betrayed some of the most vile emotions. There was voice at the back of her head, screaming for her to get away before she found herself in a quagmire she could not escape from.

"That explains it then." It was amazing how she could sound so cold and logical even with such an expression toying at her lips. "Of course your boyfriend would have left at the first opportunity. They are not exactly the most open when it comes to expressing their... interests? Well to be perfectly frank, they like keeping their personal fetishes private. I'm sure you would have loved to share some of your ideas in the bedroom, hmm?"

"But he's not my-" She tried to keep pace, she really did, but between the much more experienced woman and her own balance shattered, she had no chance.

"I'm sure someone of the opposite gender who reads _this _kind of material is much more than a friend." She interjected one final time before the smirk disappeared, her shoulder rising once from within the folds of her robe in an innocent shrug. "Of course, he could always just be trading material and there is really nothing wrong with that. Why don't you give him a call, I would certainly like to meet this young man." Now she could see only genuine curiosity in the expression of the woman.

That, and for reasons she could not fathom, the tiniest sliver of hope.

She didn't want to think about it, lest she open herself to attack once more. As if in response to her companion's request, her scroll rung. "He's on the way her actually, finally managed to figure out where _here_ is..." She was going over the message one more time, to make sure another misunderstanding didn't occur when she came to a startling realization.

They hadn't even exchanged names.

And the funny thing wasn't, this wasn't exactly the first time it happened.

The prior incident wasn't exactly as bad, but to her surprise her team -maybe with the exception of Weiss who she kept at arm's length- wormed their way into her heart in what was basically one conversation. One day she and Ruby were allies of circumstance and the next she was helping the littler girl tie her ropes for her side or rather top of the bunk. Yang was calling her a lost cause one evening, something that really stung considering her background, then the next minute the blonde boxer was happily play-fighting with with her little sister, just as she caught the words that flew out of her own mouth: "_Ruby, Yang, it's nice to meet you..."_

Brennan during the ride over to Beacon was an unlikely conversationalist, and though she left because there were... philistines about, she really would have loved to talk more with him had the opportunity presented itself. Hell, originally, she got to know Ichigo after a friendly debate concerning the qualities of current literature when compared to the contemporary classics, even if she hadn't really talked much afterwards.

Basically, the moment you talk to her about a book, you were set.

And for some reason, she had no problem with that. She wanted to change from her persona as the White Fang Operative, one who acted and killed in the shadows to a Huntress who could stand proudly in the light and that was as good a start as any.

"Pardon me but we haven't introduced ourselves." She sat up and faced the woman with a slight smile and a hand offered in friendship. "I'm Blake, and I've been reading Risa's books for about six years now."

The figure was still for a moment, her expression unreadable and perfectly still. Blake thought she would be the type to brush away her hand before stone cracked and gave way to warmth, the stranger's own hands first moving to lower the hood she wore before meeting with hers. As she shook hands with the woman before her, Blake took the time to take note of her appearance, on the off chance that they did meet again whenever she was free to attend whatever book convention D.F. Risa would attend next. Hopefully by then, she wouldn't have to be juggling three commitments like she did now.

First thing that she saw were the glasses emerging, pieces of glass on thin frames were the only things between her and a pair of eyes, old as the planet itself and yet still contained the mischievous spark of life hidden in pale jade pools. Her countenance was serious, sharp even if she could imagine her with that hard expression, but those same elegant features softened as she looked at her with a smile, one undoubtedly reserved for very few.

Her hair was black, not exactly the most common or rarest of colors, hung up in a high ponytail while fringes framed her face, bestowing upon her the air of a no-nonsense type of person at best, downright frightening at worst. If Blake were to take a guess, she would suppose that the woman before her was a few years older than she was, maybe would be a student, one of the upperclassmen, at Beacon for all she could tell.

But now, at that point in time, she was just another friend, a kindred spirit sharing a meal and a few stories.

"Nice to meet you." She nodded as her eyes turned towards the alleyway, her smile stretching slightly into a smug smirk. "I'm..."

Golden orbs took a glance to see a tall orange haired boy, a hand brushing the curtains away that he could see her and her companion.

"Lisa." Ichigo finished for her, his eyes clouded with resignation before he took the seat between herself and Lisa. "How the hell did you make yourself a cult?"

"What do you mean, Berry-kun?" She saw Ichigo twitch in annoyance despite the fact, more likely because, Lisa spoke in perfect deadpan. "I'm not the one worshiped as a God in some places."

"All I asked for was a minute, just one measly minute to talk to you and what happens? A fucking brawl!" Wait, what? Ichigo was the one who caused that? "It was goddamn crazy! I would have had to fight off the entire convention if I didn't get the hell out of there. The entire time I was trying to get out, you could hear them chanting your stupid pen name, and when they fought, they did it like damn Tsukishima!"

That was the reason she, and quite a number of people were forced to rearrange themselves as security tried to make sense of the situation. Apparently, a particularly strong fan tried to cut in line, and the rest of them wouldn't have it. What was supposed to be a minor scuffle escalated into a full all out brawl where they had to call several paramedics to tend to victims as well as added security to deal with the initial -as the entire mass of people seemed to be ganging up on one guy- perpetrator. She thought it could have been Ichigo, but quickly dismissed the idea when she heard of the circumstances.

Ichigo wouldn't have a reason to cut in line, seeing as he had no idea what the convention was for in the first place.

Apparently, it was exactly as she originally suspected.

"They were that good?" Lisa sounded genuinely curious.

"They couldn't beat damned Kon in a fight but they knew how to use a book in creative ways..." Ichigo went through his clothing, taking out the envelope from his jacket before presenting it to Lisa. "Speaking of which, the bastard asked me to give this to you. We couldn't exactly return it given the circumstances-"

He was not allowed to finish as Lisa had by then taken the package from his hands. In contrast to the violent manner in which she ripped it from his grasp, Blake could make out the woman cradling it like a newborn babe, jade eyes regarding it lovingly as she gently stripped away the paper casing. "This one, this one will always be my most beloved." She all but cooed as the content's of the package slipped free, and Lisa seemed to be rubbing her cheek against what looked like a book. "You shouldn't have stayed away for too long, Onee-chan missed her little Otōto."

And imagine her horror when Lisa started giggling perversely as she opened what looked like a erotic comic book.

Yeah, she appreciated her brand of erotica, she really did, but she never really went as far as reading it in public and giggling like a dirty old man all the while. She most definitely did not caress the pages much like a lover did and lick her lips whenever it managed to enter the more... steamy scenes. She would have to give the woman credit, Lisa managed to read, or skim through, what looked to be a four inch think graphic novel and school her features the moment she met Ichigo's gaze once more.

"I didn't think you had it in you to read this, being an older brother and all." Lisa spoke once more in her signature deadpan, her features cold and sharp like the winter's own chill. "I guess even prude's like you have their fantasies."

"Like your one to talk, you fucking pervert." Ichigo retorted with his own characteristic scowl. "As far as I know, I'm training to do what I've always done while you're just writing smut."

"It's not smut, it's art!" Blake had to fight down her own urge to say the exact same words as Lisa continued her tirade. "And say what you will about it, this _art_ pays the bills extremely well. I still don't get why you don't understand that after you've been taking a few from my stash yourself. There was a time where you, Kensei, and I would just read something to pass the time, well mostly because there were idiots fighting."

"That's all Kon and you and I both know it!"

"Fine, just keep denying you naive prude, but one day you will find the joy of- wait..." Jade eyes once more called the glimmer of mischief to the forefront as Lisa leered at her and Ichigo in a way that was much too suggestive for her taste. A quick once over and a thoughtful nod later, the smug smirk she wore the entire time became absolutely wicked. "My, my, Ichigo. I didn't think you would be into all that _pussy_ stuff. You should have asked Yoruichi when you had the chance."

The lewd meaning of the word aside, Blake stiffened when she realized what was about to happen. Ichigo beside her simply didn't know whether to be outraged or just confused.

Calm pools of jade met agitated gold and kerfuffled amber, and just like that, Lisa diverted the topic just as easily. "I meant that if you liked taking it so much, Yoruichi would have happily obliged. I knew Kisuke was on to something when he sent Tessai to wake you up."

"I have no time for this." Ichigo huffed as he got to his feet, his own amber orbs blazing with half reigned anger, a sense of resignation, and a dash of unexplained excitement. "If this is all we're going to be doing, then just give me your number and I'll meet you some other time. Blake has somewhere else she needs to be right now."

Those deep calculating eyes were focused on her when Lisa sighed in defeat. "Alright then, but before that give the poor girl back her book and take this." Obediently, Ichigo returned to her the pride of her entire collection as Lisa once more conjured a book from her robe. Blake couldn't believe her eyes, and she found herself looking from Lisa's hands to the table just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

_Oh. My. God. How are there two of them? How in the world does she have two..._

"My number is on page fifteen, since I know you still have issues with that." Lisa gave one final jab before her tone turned somber. All the mirth in her eyes died to give was to cold calculating logic. "After that, I don't really care what you do with it. The market's a good option though. The three that hit before managed to sell for quite a sum, so as long as I vouch for its authenticity, you could be well off for quite a while. You could ask your friend over there just how much that book is worth. Everyone in the family had one, so I'm giving you yours."

_Vouch for their authenticity? But only... Oh_

For a moment, there was silence. Blake herself stared at Lisa with something akin to awe and disbelief, the woman in question looked to Ichigo betraying nothing with her expression while Ichigo stared at the book with a hint of nostalgia.

"You said three made it to the market." He finally said, once more taking his seat and turning to the author of the book. "Kensei, Hiyori, and Hachi?"

"Everyone's here if that's what you're asking, I know you worry." She replied with light teasing once more. "Though Shinji, surprisingly, and not Kensei. Mashiro wouldn't let her captain sell something I gave them even after I said it was alright. We met up with Tessai at Vacuo a while back, and since he's busy with his little thing there, I'm not surprised you weren't informed. We'll try to get in contact with you in the future, all of us, though don't expect too much too soon."

"I don't really need you guys breathing down my neck. I'm not exactly a kid anymore." Ichigo turned then turned his curious gaze on her. "Shouldn't you be calling Ruby, Blake? I'm sure she would like her teammate back."

_OH..._

Now it all made sense, and at the mention of her team leader, she knew what she had to do.

"You're, D.F. Risa?" She tried so very hard not to let her voice quiver, but to see, to _be talking to,_ one of her childhood idols was quite the overwhelming experience.

"You can't really take away the novelty of a pen name." She replied with a slight smile. "I wondered how long it would take for you to figure it out-"

"CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH!"

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

**AN Spoilers below for those who haven't watched the ****finale**

**Happy Valentines Day... is what I would like to say if I wasn't a day late, so belated all the same those who had a date, or significant other.**

**Also, to those who stuck with me since the beginning, thanks as Valentines is the anniversary of this particular work. If you were here since the beginning still alive and breathing then I thank you for your support. Really, it was because of you guys that this is still going, no matter how much life may delay releases. If you had been beheaded for any reason, like our poor saint of the day before now, then I thank you all the same for whatever you brought, criticisms and all. The life of a story, and admittedly the author, is in it's readers, and though I can't say that I'm as good as several writers on this site, having a few people appreciate it is enough for me to want to keep it alive. **

**Again, Thanks, you don't know that half of it. :D**

**No questions, I don't really know it that's a good or a bad thing, but thanks for all the positive reinforcement.**

**On this chapter, well I focused on Blake since I really feel that she needs a bit more screen time. Yes, this is covering the Stray Arc, cause everyone still played a part there while Blake vanished, and just sporadically appears. I plan to give every canon character some sort of special chapter, like what I kinda did with Weiss and Ruby, but then again it was their arc, so just wait for that. I'm sure your favorite character will be in the spotlight, and I hope I get them down correctly.**

**On that note, Blake was quite difficult to get down, simply because she's a walking contradiction. I mean, she is mysterious, and she has a right to be and act as such, but the moment someone blabs about a book, BAM, you have her open up. I know Ruby's childlike innocence is irresistible, and I can forgive that, but Yang called her a lost cause, and the next day they were hunky dory. I'm not one who takes insults to heart, personally. I've been flamed (it has been deleted as to not adulterate the review count) and really it wasn't that bad, but for Blake; someone who has been degraded, abused, insulted all her life? I don't think it should roll very well.**

**But it does, for some reason, and I say that's because she's trying to change. **

**She said that her fallback action is running when season one and two, and three (spoiler alerts) all have her fighting head on. She's afraid of being a monster, or proving the humans who hurt her right, but she has done nothing that could be faulted. And that's because, at least to me, she's trying hard to avoid it to the extent that she's punishing herself for even entertaining the thought. I mean she runs away once, and then all the time she is is doubt that she is worthy to stay in the first place.**

**Well, I made her a die hard fangirl, so please don't hate me for that.**

**Oh and the Vizards (Visored) are here, not to mention someone very special. If you don't know who yet, then seriously, read the Manga. I alluded to early seasons, so it should be obvious.**

**As for the RWBY part, well I just got off the finale and I was surprised. **

**I mean, I prepared for most of those and therefore I don't know how much I can actually use. I mean, if you guys have been watching carefully, I have several contingencies in place in the event that Beacon is attacked. Those contingencies are in the form of Ichigo and his team, as well as what they are doing. These four overpowered beings, they are there, and the way things are going, what was a super epic finale I can reduce to a few thousand words of "Just as Planned" **

**I mean, to give you guys a sample and all, and Yang supposedly can't get her arm cut off anymore, since Narius (Yes, my hated OC) is teaching her exactly how to counter that style. As he uses a blade too, it would be difficult to orchestrate the arm loss, so there is no guarantee it is going to happen.**

**Heck if we get right down to it, since the Atlas Aura Facilities (AAF lol) are down, we don't even know if Penny would exist in my universe. **

**Anyways, for any questions, please just pm or reveiw. **

**I really can't thank you guys enough, for keeping me going ;D**

**This has been Proccit**

**See Ya! **

**X))**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Teachers who appear out of nowhere**

* * *

"So why were you really gone?" The first thing Yang did when they made it back to the dorm was take her partner aside and ask the all important question.

In the dim lighting of the room, leaning in with a definitely predatory smirk on her face, she was sure she stuck an intimidating figure as Weiss beside her stared impassively, watching with none of the interest she was expecting from repressed little princess.

Stereotypical rich people were always the most repressed, as well as being most fond of gossip, so she was mildly surprised when their resident Ice Queen broke that preconception from the get go. Still, she would consider it a win that Weiss was hinting at the barest tinge of interest, seeing as she was leaning casually by the door with her arms crossed rather than turning in for the night like her littler sister.

Speaking of which, she could still hear the barest whisper of her sister snoring contentedly up in her comfy canopy of sheets, just the way she was when Yang herself tucked her in a few moments prior. Ruby could just be so cute, or at least so much cuter, when she was actually tried, an very _very_ rare occurrence she might add. Her little red reaper was clutching her scroll to her chest the entire way back to the room, sneaking fond looks at her new wallpaper in between fluttering fits of lethargy that pulled her eyelids down.

For all curious, the picture was a keeper; all the members of team Ruby squeezed together in a friendly embrace as the sun set behind them. The moment she and Ruby flanked their partners and forced the unsuspecting pair between themselves before taking the snapshot was perfectly timed, immortalizing Blake's reflexive poker face, complete with an elegant eyebrow quirked and more interestingly Weiss' undignified shriek of surprise as he cheeks reflected the shade of the sunset.

Definitely worth their Ice Queen going subzero on them immediately after, threatening to throw the siblings into the docks below for 'capturing something shameful.' If she demanded that they take responsibility, she would have lost it right then and there. Say what you will about her, she did have a thing for the thrilling and Weiss was a riot to tease no matter how 'sorta okay' she was nowadays.

And that was the crux of the matter at hand; the good old fashion tradition of initiating new friends through the gauntlet of jeering, ridicule, and all kinds of good natured abuse.

_Yheap, we're finally doing this. This has been a long time coming oh partner of mine..._

Weiss, strangely enough, was still undergoing her share even if she was written off as 'sorta okay' ever since the last major argument. Apparently, while she and her partner were asleep, the resident Ice Queen and her adorable little sister shared a tender bonding moment and solidified their friendship, until graduation do us part and all that jazz. Whatever happened between them in the dim light of the broken moon with stars as their only witnesses, she would never know, and even if she had the right of the elder sister to try and pry, she never did.

She wouldn't want to ruin such awesome material she had to work with.

That morning after was amazing for those who witnessed the fallout. Beginning with a returned coffee cup and ending with their entire team late for class, the week didn't end without every eye noticing both the Heiress and the Reaper just as red as the latter's cape at least once. As a responsible elder sister, she made sure to take lots of pictures, as blackmail material whenever it would be needed to ... er... convince Weiss that a certain course of action would be most beneficial to the team.

Weiss never really looked at her or Ruby the same way again afterwards, and on her part, she could still feel the lethal chill of ice enveloping her chest from time to time.

She should have been a bit less pointed about... hehehe... pointing that out, but then again that was the whole... pfft... point of it.

Back on track.

The Great Yang would tease... whoever was available actually, and receiving party would either try to make a comeback, fluster up and go all ax-crazy, or simply freeze like stone and try to weather the assault. It was her way of letting people in, her introduction so to speak, and after that she would let them treat her in the manner they deem appropriate while she tried to reciprocate. She was the type to really get to know a person after skirmish and after skirmish on the fierce arena of verbal combat. There was never a loser in the end, just a pair of new friends with bonds forged in the fires of bad puns and even more terrible insults.

Her little sister went through that process of trial by comeback combat most of her life, and though she loved the little tyke like the sun loved the sky, she was never able to really hit as hard. But that's fine since she had the experience to defend herself against anyone foolish enough, be it in hand to hand or pun to pun, and they were family; there was no real barrier between them that they would have to break down with fiery words and sharp deriding looks.

Weiss was a different story. Possessing walls of stone around whatever cold heart that probably didn't beat in her chest, the heiress was as stuck up and condescending as they came, and worse still she actually had wits that matched her blade. She was the type to nip the joke in the bud, and if she couldn't do that, she would twist the punchline so much that it actually, _ugh, Logically _falls flat on it's face. The only thing that could make her worse is if she starts _explaining_ the damn things.

Not to worry; she promised herself to siege the iron citadel of the Ice Queen until it falls to ruin beneath her asinine assault, and come hell or high water, she would defrost this Ice Princess. That or Ruby does it for her, and this plan allows her to get the pleasure of teasing two for the price of one.

The rest weren't of too much interest.

Jaune acted like Ruby more often than not, all his bravado leaving him when she decides it's time to pick on him for a bit. Either that or he was just that much of a push over, which she really didn't think on too much; come on, who wore footsie pajamas in this day and age? The champion of Mistral to her genuine shock, was not as capable in the verbal sparring ring as she was in actual combat, and there were a few times she could render her red as her hair, either in anger or in exasperation or just plain mirth. Nora was a bit too crazy to actually get a rise out of the shorter girl, well it would be better to say that she didn't exactly need to do anything to excite the ball of energy that was Nora, her exuberant personality affording her a good defense against her own line of mischievousness. Ren, the sly secretive boy, was a solid straight man when it came to humor though sometimes even he would seem to cave under her pressure.

From Isabelline, Ichigo was the only one who exhibited more expected reactions and those in itself were subdued to the extent that betrayed a great amount of experience. He told her once that she would have to get a bit better to get a rise out of him, other than a faint blush here and there, his defenses being just as solid as the Ice Queen's in that regard. She didn't dare touch the rest of his team anymore after what happened with Narius, the first defeat in her very own arena; the palace of puns. Zangestu was like Nora, a bit too crazy for her to deal with when he wanted to be and Brennan was even more stoic and serious than Ren and Weiss put together.

It took her a long while to notice, but all those she would consider friends or acquaintances were at the very least singed by her admittedly horrible attempts at humor, all except her very own partner in crime...er school.

No matter, that was about to change right now.

Blake on her part was making it difficult by being utterly unshakable; as solid as a rock. A few hours ago, when she embraced the black clad girl together with her entire team in a rush to get the stolen snapshot taken, the unflappable girl didn't even bat an eyelash, that raised eyebrow didn't really count as much. Now that she was being interrogated by none other than the great Queen of Quip herself, she didn't even blink.

"As I told Ruby, I simply fulfilled a prior agreement with a professor, nothing more, nothing less." Blake's voice did not betray a hint of hesitation, neither did her expression shift to reveal the slightest of cracks as she turned the page that held her golden-eyed gaze, not even pausing to acknowledge the question of her partner. "Why don't you take it up with Professor Bostov since you don't seem to believe me?"

Classic fallback: The "Ask someone else if you don't trust me" play. Of course the strangely friendly professor would parrot what Blake just said, but that wouldn't be of any use now, would it?

She had a strange sense about these things. She could see when something, _anything, _happened while she wasn't around, and this was definitely one of those times. She didn't need to know what they were _supposed_ to do when they went to wherever the wind carried them, she wanted to know _what _happened along the way. Blake could always just tell them about it, but since she was being so difficult, she would have to resort to more... persuasive methods.

Time to bring it from zero to sixty.

"Come on, Blake~" She scooted over her teammate and partner teasingly, lilac eyes inches away form golden orbs as they were lifted from he pages of her book. "You were all smiles when you finally made it. Something must have happened along the way~ Was is some guy? Did our little ninja have her heart stolen by another, equally mysterious, devil while going on an errand? Or maybe you went on a forbidden rendezvous with our favorite professor? He isn't as hard on the eyes as PP at least."

To the experienced eye Blake was not amused, but to the novice she wasn't even affected.

See why she was impressed? At this point people would be sputtering honest to god denials before divulging what exactly happened to stop the blonde from coming up and subsequently voicing crazier and crazier scenarios. Most people would be fuming at this point(Weiss) or blushing like crazy at whatever she was not so subtly hinting at(dear little Ruby). Her partner's reaction?

Blake didn't break eye contact, quite the opposite in fact, as deep golden pools examined her every movement for any hint of true heat as she wiggled her eyebrows. Her lilac orbs peered into mesmerizing gold for any flaw, any sign that Blake was even the slightest bit unbalanced by the turn of conversation. It went without saying that she found absolutely nothing.

"Please keep whatever fantasies you find on your excursions through the CCT to yourself Yang." Blake replied coolly as her eyes once more returned to her book. "We don't need Ruby seeing whatever you... entertain yourself with on your scroll."

"Hah, like she would see anything. That's what clearing the browser history is for." Yang rebutted victoriously before returning to her thoughts.

She wasn't that careless, getting caught once and by Uncle Qrow of all people was enough to teach her how to cover her tracks. If she was extremely careful(read:sneaky) before -She did manage to take her sister without her father being the wiser when she was still obsessed with finding her mother- she was now altogether invisible when she went away and attended to her... needs. She was a maturing teenager, young adult, too and it certainly didn't do anything to discourage that certain behavior when she would sometimes hear _exactly_ what other boys wanted to do to her if they got her alone.

Anyway, back to her partner.

See? Blake doesn't panic, hell she doesn't even flinch. With the calm of a smooth operator, she took everything in stride and forced her to admit her own...

Wait...

What the _hell_ just happened?

Her head all but snapped to the side to see Weiss inch slowly away from the blonde as Blake continued reading her book with the nonchalance of a self-satisfied cat, the only sound breaking the silence being the swish of another page being turned. Oh this was so unfair, she was the one fishing here, it wasn't like her partner was allowed to get some of her own secrets in return. It was supposed to be a one way thing, dammit. With the speed her sister was known for, she snatched the book from her partners hands and met the gaze of patient irritation with one of desperation.

_This shouldn't be happening._

"How much did you see? Hell, how do you even know?" She asked, desperation leaking from her voice as Blake gestured with her palm, no doubt asking for her book back.

That should be enough of a peace offering she supposed, even if she snatched it away in the first place. "Please, please don't tell Ruby?"

"I saw nothing, by your own admission, and of course I'm not telling Ruby any of this." Blake rolled her eyes, most likely at her own expression, whatever is was, as once more the open palm twitched. "The book please?"

Okay, definitely not underestimating her partner again. Within the span of a few seconds, with just one statement, she silenced any argument she might have had. One shot in the dark and the black haired girl had whatever she needed to keep her silent. Blake took her ability to speak, her ability to do anything with one educated guess; when she tried to take an inch, her sly partner took everything. Now she couldn't get anything out of her, not without risking her sister's already cracked image of her.

If she wasn't the victim in this, she would be quite impressed.

She sighed with relief as she made to give the book back -_What is this thing anyway?- _before her curiosity got the better of her. She had marked where Blake had left off when she had taken the book in the event that her partner had no time to take note of the page, no she wasn't that cruel that she would leave Blake lost, so she had some form of reference as to what exactly the book was aside from the obvious blurb.

It wasn't like she didn't read. She was the one who helped Ruby through the nights by narrating tales of fantastic feats in their childhood, so as much as she wasn't comparable to her sister in the bookworm department, she did participate in a good read every once in a while. Blake wouldn't mind if she took a quick peek, and who knows if it was good maybe she would borrow it some time.

She could hardly stop the grin from playing on her lips as her eyes zeroed in to one word that changed everything. "Someone's been very naughty." She all but purred as lilac eyes stared seductively into stoic gold. "I didn't know you were into these kind of things, Blake. The only reason why I turned to the dark side of the Net was because Ruby might happen to get her hands of these babies if I wasn't looking. You were reading something like this the first time we met up in the ballroom too? Bad Blakey, what would Ruby think?"

They just stared for a moment, thoughts running through both of their heads before Blake sighed and shook her head. "Do you really want to do this? Would you lie to your little sister?"

"I wouldn't call it lying, per se." Blake, even Weiss quirked an eyebrow at the utterly shameless comment. "Really? Alright then, how would you feel if, say an older female, one you respect I guess, told you out of the blue that yes they do watch porn?"

"I guess it's some way to keep whatever 'negativity' around at bay." Blake offered without the slightest hesitation, garnering the same reaction for her and the heiress. "What's wrong?"

"Are you seriously trying to justify the use of... that, right now?" Weiss asked, strangely perturbed if the ever increasing incredulity in her voice was something telling. She had to give the Ice Queen credit though, even as her tone escalated, she kept her voice to a low whisper as not to wake her little sister up. "Remnant to Blake? Ruby is just a child! She has no business being exposed to such things!"

"Calm down there, Princess." She tried to placate the partner of her sister though most of her attention on her own partner. "But Weissy has a point." She could feel her grin widening just a little when Weiss voiced her indignation. "We can argue the morality, motivation, and proper age of consumption later. From the sounds of it you seem to be the expert on these things." She could feel herself heating up just a bit as the tension reached an all time high, all eyes, save for slumbering silver, on her as she finally unleashed her Coup de Grace.

"If you don't want to tell us the nitty gritty of the nasty that went down a while ago, why don't you tell us about your first time?"

She fought back the urge to throw her fist into the air with a cheer as, simultaneously the hands of her secretive partner and the irate heiress slammed into their faces. She could _feel _the annoyance, the disbelief bordering on outrage that she even _tried _to insinuate something like that. Weiss was pale, almost deathly so, and that was precisely how she could see the poor girl blushing up a storm despite the very low lighting. Her partner still could not mask her disbelief, though she definitely fared better. On her part, she couldn't tell if the bow-wearing girl's shock came from the absurdity of the suggestion or the fact that she suggested it with the queen of prudes around.

It didn't really matter why she was shocked, the point was this finally going her way. With a comment from Blake, one she didn't exactly expect but something welcome nonetheless and Weiss' reaction to the abrupt topic change, she had successfully diverted their attention from whatever they could have used against her, namely tattling on Ruby. And just like that, her reputation with her sister was secure and the game was back on; a game she was sure she had the upper hand in.

_What was that lesson I learned a few minutes ago? Nah, definitely wasn't important._

"Come on, we're burning moonlight here! Tell us all the details."

So far from the sidelines, she could faintly hear Weiss and Blake mutter into their palms.

"I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Does Ruby even deserve to know about this?"

_Being so utterly shameless that telling Ruby would no longer be an option, works every time._

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to make of the situation.

The day with her team was nothing short of amazing, but the morning after was... less than amazing. She tried not to think too much about it, Yang once told her that when something was ultra-super-awesome and it happened at night, or at least when the sun was already down, the morning after was doomed to be uncomfortable, maybe even painfully so. Her wise older sister called it a 'Hangover' or something, so maybe that was the reason why the room seemed so tense when she woke up.

It was a strange experience, but not particularly foreign to her. She was feeling strangely queasy the morning after Professor Ozpin allowed her to attend Beacon, **despite being two years too young**. Maybe that was happening again, just to all of them at once since they all had a very good the night before. It was worth it in her opinion, prompting her to swear that she would be better prepared for the next group outing, and by extension, the next group hangover.

Still something looked fishy, and it was only until breakfast did she have an inkling to what it was.

"So there we were, cornered in the middle of a clearing with the sun of high noon baring down." Turquoise eyes narrowed, Nora continued her tale of battle and glory; the rest of table more or less enthralled by the epic she spun as they partook in the most important meal of the day. "There were two of them flanking us, just two Beowolves, but that made no difference."

When she said more or less, she really meant on the less side since whatever attention Nora truly had only came from Team Isabelline, namely Zangetsu and Narius while the rest of them did their own things. Brennan seemed to be content with finishing his own meal without disturbance, having a pair of earphones on as he ate, azure eyes strangely focused somewhere beyond the glass panes that separated the outside from the cafeteria proper. Ichigo and Ren seemed to be content to eat in peace, no doubt used to Nora's hyperactive story telling. She could admit that she had her own quirks when it came to things like weapons and combat, but when it came to Nora even she hadn't the slightest idea how to separate fact from fiction.

She wouldn't have believed that the girl managed to mount and ride an Ursa, something she had wanted to attempt for the longest time but couldn't due to the combined resistance of Yang, her uncle, and her father, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

So despite herself, she wondered what prompted the normally hyperactive girl to say numbers didn't count when Nora stabbed her knife into the pancake and jumped to her feet. "THEY WERE HUGE! I mean, the legs on those things were _this big! _And they were totally white! I mean, my dad told me once that a Grimm had to be really, _really, _REALLY old to have full armor." Nora took her seat once more, and with her arms back on her side, the excited smile evaporated, replaced with the most sober expression the youngest leader ever saw on the chipper girl. "It was impossible, a first in recorded history, but two Omega Beowolves stood to the sides, circling slowly, carefully, like predators cornering helpless prey."

Back to the rest of the table or specifically team Juniper, Jaune and Pyrrha both seemed a bit worried, the pair casting nervous glances at each other and sometimes at the space directly to her left. Again, her own silver eyes followed the gaze of bright harlequin and more subdued zaffre and she was met with the same reaction from her team seated by her the side. Namely Weiss, seated at her immediate left already with her plate tidied up before her, who was making sure that her nails were properly manicured. Her dearest sister Yang was beside her partner, listening intently to the tale being spun, hands cradling her cheeks while her elbows on the table to support her as she leaned it. Blake was situated farthest, with her nose in a book as she picked on what was left of her own breakfast.

All in all, it was peaceful on her side of the table and a bit more chaotic on the other, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary that fine day.

Partially, Jaune's nervous manner was precisely what alerted her to the fact that something was plaguing her teammates.

She liked Jaune, NOT IN THAT WAY, he was nice, and he was actually funny with the right crowd, but even she wouldn't sugarcoat the fact that he was the weakest person seated at the table bar none. She also wouldn't put it past the boy behave in such a manner, especially when there were quite a number of boys who would go around sneaking peeks and sending glances at her sister for whatever reason. Yang was extremely friendly after all, and why she went and befriended boys more often was no skin off her back when she was the opposite, staying up and studying on how to make her baby even better at the cost of her social life.

Normally, when she saw something like this happen, she would do the most logical thing and check on her team herself. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she would go back to whatever she was doing, in this case listening to Nora, and leave them to their business.

She couldn't exactly rely on her peripheral vision, spending hours looking through a sniper's scope kinda did that to you. Her kinetic vision was top notch though, but with her team being relatively still, that didn't help her as much as it should have.

Jaune eyeing her sister worriedly wasn't as much of a red flag then. Well at least it wouldn't be if Pyrrha didn't mirror his action.

When Pyrrha freaking Pumpkin Pete Nikos, the Goddess of Victory boasting a perfect public record of thirty, zero, five, -in terms of wins, loses, and draws respectively- seems worried about something, then something was up and if she couldn't see it then that meant one of two things. Either she was going crazy, fat chance of that happening, or for some reason her team was hiding it from her.

She couldn't exactly deal with the former, but the latter seemed easy enough to act on.

Now, where was Nora again?

Possessing eerie similarity to her uncle when she would catch him at the counter, Nora took her glass of milk and downed it like her life depended on it. She made sure to slam the glass back onto the table like a weary tavern-goer before she continued her tale. "They were massive, those beasts were, taller than any man ought to be and even more ghastly than any monster out there. We were sure that doom was upon us when..."

_And... now._

She didn't turn her head as much as possible, but silver eyes caught a glimpse of the silent drama that took place beside her.

Smiling silver met lilac as they froze just in time for her to catch her sister in the act of... well she wasn't exactly sure what this was. Yang was quick enough on the draw to meet her with a smile as soon as 'innocent' lilac met inquisitive silver. "Are you guys okay?"

Oh, well, we're fine Rubes, see?" Yang flashed her a reassuring smile, throwing two thumbs up for good measure even while her eyes darted to the rest of her teammates. She fought the urge to shake her head, this was exactly like Yang whenever she got her hand caught in the cookie jar. Being the younger sibling, she was simply too good, too sneaky, and her hands were much too small to be caught in said jar. "Right guys?"

"Yes, we are perfectly fine." She thought that, sporting a blush and all, her sister could have been a bit more persuasive but Blake was solid. "Your sister was just asking about what happened yesterday."

Oh, well that made perfect sense. If she was being honest, she was curious as well, but the most mysterious member of their group said that it wasn't much so she wouldn't really dig too deeply. But then she wasn't Yang. Her sister wasn't the most private of people when to things like that, kinda hypocritical when she wouldn't answer questions herself. Couple that to the fact that they were partners, an interrogation was imminent... if it didn't already pass when she was asleep last night.

_Oh, I missed the good stuff again?_

She could always rectify that of course, her powers as team leader granted her that much... _I think. _"What did happen yesterday, Blake?"

Lowering her book, Blake shot her a curious look, one that said that she expected this from Yang but was quite surprised when she started pushing the issue. There was certainly a half-grimace there, like the older girl was seriously pondering whether or not to tell her but after a moment of decision her sister's partner caved.

Well if you could even call it that. It would be better to say that she fled from the argument.

With almost unnerving calm, she directed her gaze towards her fellow leader as Ichigo sported an expression that all but saw this development coming. She didn't have the time to be curious when he swallowed the cereal in his mouth before speaking with calm that belied the commotion beside her. "We really did just deliver a package."

_Ichigo was there? _Now she was somewhat confused, and just as curious as Yang was. Sure, there was a bit of hurt since Blake kept this part from them, but the gnawing hunger to know why overpowered that. She needed to be reasonable, that was why they tried to get to know each other first, and therefore decided to render judgement after hearing the whole story. If she would allow more of her rational side more time to -well- reason, she found that she couldn't have blamed Blake for doing such a thing. If she was friends with Ichigo, like Weiss and Pyrrha was, then it was fair for her to spend her first weekend with the boy rather than them, and who knows? Maybe they were actually on a simple errand.

Yay logic!

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for her sister Yang, who had an even wilder imagination than she had on rare occasions.

The sly smile on sister's face didn't escape her, of course Yang would take the opportunity to make sure that Blake paid for her insolence. "Oh, Blakey~" Yang was singing now, _singing,_ in the tone she used whenever she turned on her. "You didn't tell us that you went on a secret rendezvous with Ichigo here~" Yikes, the interrogation must have gone south if Yang was _still _picking on her, assuming this whole fiasco started last night after she fell asleep.

Blake rolled her eyes at the jest before returning to her book, a sneaky golden eye hovering beyond the pages to watch her sister as Yang changed targets. "And you, Mr. Heartbreaker." It would't have been out of place if her sister stood and sauntered to his side but she settled for leaning in deeper, resting her chest on the table as ardent lilac eyes bored into unfazed amber. "You didn't need to go out of your way to hide the fact that you were taking Blake out on a date. Though, going for two at a time isn't exactly the safest way to go, especially with our Blakey here."

"And what makes you say that?" The boy in question inquired almost tamely as Yang's grin only widened.

"You said you were delivering a package to someone, I didn't think you meant _your_ package."

Suddenly, the table was reduced to a sputtering mess while several of her cohorts suddenly felt tired enough to slam their faces into the table. Pyrrha, Weiss, and Jaune belonged to the former, while Ren groaned into the hard wood table. Narius seemed to tremble silently before returning to his business while Brennan didn't even seem to hear the comment, finishing off his breakfast with the nonchalance of the best of them. Nora didn't seem to understand what was going on, same with her if she was being honest with herself, while Blake was trying her very best to disappear into her book. Zangetsu was chuckling, elbowing the teen hard and muttering something like, "She's got you there."

What really caught her attention though was the way Ichigo reacted, namely by twisting his lips in a ghost of a smile and raising a chuckle that seemed almost hollow. "Haha, funny. And here I though I didn't need to deal with people like you, like her, anymore." He seemed to give his next words a few more moments of thought before deciding to just go with it. "You would have liked her, I guess, and the feeling would probably been mutual."

"Oh~" Her sister practically trilled in challenge, speaking with the tone that always charmed the boys. On record, she still didn't get it, but to her curiosity, smirk on Yang's face didn't seem as frightening when it wasn't directed at her. "And who is this mystery woman who isn't afraid to share? Maybe I could get in on the action next time you call for our resident bookworm."

Those words made her freeze and reassess the current situation.

_They were having fun without me? Well technically me and Weiss, but that isn't the point! Blake ditched us, and now Yang's going to ditch us too? _Things were going downhill for their team. Well, not really, since it was kind of expected for them to be not as close as she and Yang were, but now her sister was ditching them to have fun with another team! It wasn't bad that Blake said she had an errand to run, but now that she knew that she went out on... on a... d-d-date (there she said it) it kind of hurt. She knew they weren't really close, but did Blake have to cover it up like that? It would have been better if her fellow bookworm was more honest with herself, even she would understand if someone asked her first.

If Blake just said so, then probably she wouldn't feel like she failed at making a friend again. Sure Weiss turned out fine in the end, but it took like three days for that to blow over. If she had Blake bail on her now, when it had been a bit more than a _week_ that they were living together than maybe she had a problem with this kind of social stuff. Maybe she wasn't even good at making friends, maybe she just gave herself too much credit with Weiss. Most frightening of all, if Yang actually left, maybe she really was all on her own in the dangerous world of Beacon Academy.

She didn't mind admitting it, but such a revelation -if proven true- could and would easily reduce her to tears.

"I don't really mind." Cool calm, like an autumn breeze washing over her, snapped her out of spiral as she stared slack-jawed at the speaker.

Placing butter on her pancake, the bespectacled girl sitting beside Zangetsu spoke with mild interest before chewing thoughtfully, seemingly not bothered at how she stared. "Though, you guys are kinda bothering the little kid here. Poor baby looks like she's about to burst into tears." Her gaze was a razor's edge, even sharper than Yang's red-eyed glare, but the small smile she let loose and the brilliant glimmer of jade betrayed the truth of the matter.

"You need a hug, little red?" She seemed to lean closer to her, her voice filed with sincerity that just _had _to be fake with just how overwhelmingly motherly it seemed.

It was that moment, she knew this wasn't fun and games anymore.

Someone who wasn't Yang, Uncle Qrow, or her Dad was making fun of her.

"I'm not a little girl, I drink milk!" Her cookie all but crumbled under her grip as she threw a finger at three empty cartons of milk, silver eyes burning daggers into unfeeling jade. It took her another moment to figure out what was wrong, her expression shifting from indignance into confusion. She scratched her head awkwardly, a bashful smile on her face just to match the storm she knew she was blushing up. _This is so embarrassing..._ "Um... sorry but who are you again?"

Now that she time to pay more attention, that seemed to be the question on everyone's mind at that point. Like a veil being lifted from their eyes, the table was silent, Nora going from clueless to surprised to joining the rest of them in sending the new girl looks of surprise, confusion, and no small amount of curiosity. The table trio straightened up to gaze in wonder at the girl who came from nowhere, while the expressions of Narius and Tensa suddenly turned eerily level at the sight on the newcomer.

If Ruby were to speak for herself, the girl seemed to just appear at Zangetsu's side simply appearing out of thin air with the bowl of cereal she was digging into. She didn't walk in, take a seat and spoke up; people would notice that. She just blooped up, one moment she wasn't and the next she was there, sitting right between Zangetsu and Ichigo and... and... now she was looking at her funny.

It was weird, like the times people (Yang) would look at her and giggle to themselves and more than a little uncomfortable. She was perfectly fine with facing an army of Grimm -they were juvenile Beowolves, not even armored yet but still- that look eyes with the girl before her, meeting jade glistening with smith with her own shaken silver. She was just about to go to Yang for help when she saw exactly what her dear elder sister was thinking.

Yang was certainly surprised, her own sister beheld the girl with an appraising eye and a wry smile did nothing to cover up the shock. She was really looking this time, not in the way she looked usually at people but like she looked at Grimm; making the decision as to whether or not this was an enemy she wanted to fight or run away from. She looked like she was about to throw her fist at the girl first and as questions later, and even then Ruby wouldn't blame her sister for such a reaction.

She was surprised that she hadn't taken out Crescent Rose herself.

She couldn't tell why, but a part of her was just begging her to grab her baby and take names later with how the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed from happy-go-lucky, normal-friendly-breakfast-and-stuff, to straight up flash point. She and Yang didn't seem like the only ones either, the rest of the table -Nora included- had expression of shock slowly shifting to healthy suspicion as the moments ticked by and her question remained unanswered. Really, only team Isabelline seemed fine with the situation, and by fine she meant not instantly showing signs of the fight-or-flight reaction that seemed to take everyone on the table.

"That is an excellent question little red." A gentle smile lit up the mystery girl's expression, instantly changing her impression from Weiss-scary and Blake-sneaky to Yang-sisterly. "No one of consequence, really. I'm just here to kill you all."

It came upon them without warning, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why she didn't listen to her instincts when they started screaming at her. The pressure descended with the subtlety of a sledgehammer, its presence making itself known as it pressed against them with surprising gentleness. This was not the presence of an overwhelming power threatening to crush them into dust, not this was far more malignant in nature. It slithered about them, an invisible blanket of utter wrongness writhing against them with nefarious warmth, like a King Taijitu whispering sweet nothings as it slowly, intimately, crushes the life out of its prey.

The _thing_ before her wasn't a power that would destroy them without a second thought, no this was a predator that would relish the hunt as it drove them into a corner and take perverse glee as it watched their lives flutter out of their fingertips.

And all at once, there was an explosion of movement from all sides, eight different Auras flaring out in rebellion as weapons were drawn. On her part, Crescent Rose sang in her hand as its edge tasted the air. The massive weapon she called her masterpiece, her first born, spinning protectively around her as she allowed the momentum of its unfurling to bleed away, the end of the barrel ended up pointed threateningly at the enemy when the weapon finally rested, her fingers tentatively playing on the trigger in preparation.

Another glance was all she needed to consider the rest of her team, each an every one of them just as battle ready as she was when the malignant presence dared make itself known before them. Weiss was beside her, Myrtenaster glimmering in the early morning light as a thin film of azure enveloped the exquisite piece of metalwork. She didn't need another moment to conclude that the faint light shining below them was one of her glyphs, ready and waiting to either propel her forward of freeze the _thing_ in its place; whatever would be more beneficial given the situation.

Yang was in her stance a bit further, Ember Celica on her wrists arming themselves with a satisfying click as fires danced in her eyes. Where Weiss was somewhat cold and composed, Yang fit the description of Hell's Fury to a tee; strands of golden thread threatening to rise as the temperature around them began its alarming ascent. Silver caught a glimpse of bloody crimson, as wrathful and focused as any Grimm, as they flickered with her Aura, shining brighter as she brought more strength to bear.

Blake was the rock of the team even in this situation, calmly leveling the barrel of Gambol Shroud at what she presumed to be the head of their enemy while the bladed sheath rested in her other hand. Golden orbs were alight with alert focus, though other than that, her visage betrayed nothing to the enemy. Well there was a sudden tinge of confusion and realization that flashed through her expression, but even that was soon crushed with the sheer resolve and anger that shone through a moment later.

She turned her face back to their opponent and when she took in the sight before her the confusion on Blake's face suddenly made more sense. Suddenly she wasn't so sure of herself. "Um... Ichigo?" She tried to seem as serious as possible, her weapon was at the ready after all, but there was a hint of trepidation the escaped through her voice. "What are you guys doing?"

The proper question would probably have been, what _weren't_ they doing.

Brennan looked exasperated at the eight around him, though he quickly schooled his features before glaring disapprovingly at the opponent who threatened them. Narius was simply smiling at them, almost apologetically as he remained in his seat, as if asking them to calm down and seat themselves before they create more of a scene than they already have. Zangetsu seemed, wait no, actually was trying and subsequently failing to reign in his laughter at the sight of their panic. That was probably the first clue that this wasn't the situation they thought they were in, but what hammered it in was Ichigo's tired, long-suffering sigh.

"That wasn't necessary Lisa." He deadpanned, amber eyes darting around in search of teachers most likely. Such a death threat, and the ensuing feeling of _wrong_ had to be investigated after all, and that probably meant they were in trouble. If the whole death threat part was a joke that is. If it was real, then they had a battle on their hands, a battle she wasn't exactly sure they would win.

"Of course that was completely necessary!" The bespectacled girl, the enemy monster _thing_ whatever she was, Lisa, argued back with surprising passion though her expression remained as stony as ever as she raised her voice at the boy. "Do you know how annoying it is not to get a proper reaction from anyone these days? I can't seem to make any headway with this scene, especially If I'm working with those idiots back at home. Look at them, you four idiots, that's what's supposed to happen when you're threatened by something 'supposedly' stronger than you..."

"The 'Oh Crap' Face of the newbie." Strangely enough, Jaune had the piece of mind to blush when all eyes turned to him.

"The 'I Never Thought This would be Relevant' crossed with the "This is happening again?' Face courtesy of princess." Weiss stuck her nose in the air with a huff, Myrtenaster glowing brighter despite the strange and still ongoing diffusal of the situation.

"The 'First Time Death Match with a Human Opponent' Face of the cereal mascot." Pyrrha's brow scrunched in a mixture of indignation and confusion.

"The 'Nobody's Touching my Little Sister' you're very familiar with." Yang definitely didn't know whether to be flattered or angry, but at least they regained their tame shade of lilac as she glared at the ranting girl.

"The 'This can't get any worse' Face by Pink eye." He shot her a look that distinctly said 'Can you blame me?' while Nora beside him lowered her hammer to giggle.

"Crazy over there, and Little Red, well you already know those looks well enough, though props to Blake for great acting." When Lisa finally deigned it alright to smile warmly at them and shoot her aforementioned teammate a thumbs up, she knew the situation was dealt with... that still didn't explain what the heck she was blabbering about.

As a blabberer herself she knew there was only one way to decipher such mysteries quickly. "Um... what exactly was all that." She volunteered almost meekly, she was horrible at talking to strangers and she knew it. "I mean, it all felt so real that we had to do something or else- WHY ARE YOU STILL LAUGHING?" She flung an accusing finger at Zangetsu as the pale boy wiped a tear from his eye, the grin on his face never waning as dark chuckles still continued to escape him.

"Ignore the little white monster for a while." Lisa intoned calmly before motioning for all of them to take their seats. "I just needed a bit of help with something."

"You mentioned a scene?" Ruby offered helpfully.

"Yadomaru Lisa, author, and let me just say, thanks for your help." She honored them with a shallow bow before spinning on her heel and _grasped the air._

She didn't know what was going on until Lisa managed to pull Professor Bostov_ from literally out of nowhere_ and began dragging him away, muttering something about a collection before clearing the cafeteria doors.

After that, she just gave up. "Is anyone else confused?" She asked the entire room in general.

She was lucky there were no classes that day, she wasn't sure if her brain could take much more of this.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

"Are you sure?"

_"Yes, Aki, your boys are doing perfectly fine. They have Nora and Pyrrha there, not to mention Jaune, to keep them busy. I'm sure they wouldn't want you worrying about them, especially Ichigo."_

"I know, but I can't help it, I'm his mother, and he has been acting a bit strangely given the last few calls. I can't put my finger on it but somethings up."

_"Now what could possibly be wrong?_

"I don't know, but something is bothering my baby. He never just calls twice in a week when he knows I might be doing missions."

_"Wonder if I'll ever be like that when I finally get a kid? If you're so sure, then ask him after the mission is over, one tracking job shouldn't be too hard."_

"Yeah, maybe I'll do that." Aki sighed over the line before allowing a small smile to grace her expression. "Thanks, Nozomi."

_"Don't worry about it, just come back safely. Little Ichi would lose it if you got hurt worrying over him."_

Shaking her head as she replaced the scroll in the small compartment hidden within her cloak, Aki resumed her survey of the room.

The tracking mission she was assigned was supposed to be a quick in and out: an identify and report job that was simple enough at first glance. In a perfect world, it should have been an easy enough affair to locate one Huntsman in such an isolated area, to match a description to a person and then that person to a name before reporting her findings. Of course in the world of Huntsmen and Huntresses, nothing was ever that clear cut.

Four obscure towns, about thirteen shady taverns and inns as well as countless miles later and she was starting to see why exactly this particular job payed so much. She was to look for an illusive figure more modern myth than actual target, a shadow hidden under shadows and a mere whisper when it came to the underworld. They called him the Huntsman, and for all the reach her employer had boasted, all the information they could supply her was that he was rather fond of the shady, out of the way watering hole that invited only the least respectable company.

That's it.

A name and a place. No physical profile to speak of, no preferred weapon and accompanying fighting style, no pattern of targets, nothing else that could give him away. For all she knew in the beginning, she could have been looking for a woman.

It was an impossible request, plain and simple; a job assigned with the idea that the only way the hunter assigned would return would be in failure. A problem that couldn't be solved, a riddle with no answer, that was what her job was reduced to but a job it was nonetheless. That meant that for all its seeming meaninglessness, there was rhyme in this little riddle and method to the obvious madness. She never thought that one day she would find out that she was a puzzle person, and with that she carried on searching, no longer for 'The Huntsman' but for the true meaning of the assignment whatever that may be.

And her search led her into a small, dingy bar in the middle of nowhere, leaving her sipping on what was supposed to be mead while golden orbs surveyed the room from under her hood.

The foyer was set aglow by candlelight, the soft delicate flames untouched as thick stone walls and crude planes of glass kept at bay the harsh evening chill. The warm light spread from the shabby chandelier that hung on flayed rope above them, onto a sunken hallway filled with as much noise and excitement as it held mystery and intrigue. This was the dining hall as well as the reception for the establishment and just ways away from the counter was a spread of tables crowded by patrons either wailing in their half-drunken stupor or whispering in hushed cruel tones. From her perch at the bar stool she could see it all the sharp contrast of a carefree drunkard and a hardened thug, and even gather some of the secrets the wind brought to her ears.

This was a cesspool of information, some as reliable as a child's denial and other as solid as evidenced fact - all it took now was for her to sift through the murky river of deception to find the gold she's looking for.

"Another round, hon?" An uncannily cheerful voice rang in her ear as she locked eyes with the owner of the establishment. "It might not be as hard as you usually take it, but it does the trick."

"Thank you Cynthia, though I would think it would be better to stop after ten pints of... this." Aki replied with an equally bright grin as she took hold of the offered tankard. Her free hand reached into her cloak to reveal a few lien, which the innkeeper gladly took. "Whatever it is though, it does hit the spot. You sure it has alcohol in it?"

"Family recipe, forgive me if I forget to tell you what's in it, and you seem to be one of the only ones here able to hold their drink." The brunette beauty chuckled lightly as the telltale sound of people collapsing at a table echoed throughout the hall, followed by a cacophony of laughter from all sides. "You're a paying customer, you're not drunk or a pervert, and you don't seem to be leaving any time soon. I don't see why you won't want another."

With looks like like that, she would be surprised if Cynthia _wasn't _continuously pursued. Thick wavy locks were kept in check by the low ponytail she wore over her shoulder, while warm olive green eyes shined brightly in the low candlelight. A cheerful expression would always be found playing at her gentle features, notably the freckles dusting her face whenever she herself wasn't affected by by warmth of drink. She was a sweet girl, unfailingly polite if not a bit mischievous, and extremely friendly but never presumptuously close.

She dressed herself if a simple uniform, with a top reminiscent of a maid's but with a skirt much too short to be quite descent. Made complete with a pair of stockings, a hip apron and an much too small overcoat, the ensemble painted her in an almost seductive light only highlighting the rest of her... assets; a nicely developed bust, long trailing legs and skin that was basically glowing even in the dimness of a bar. She would admit, the woman before her was a sight to see and she would have been worried for the innkeeper if not for the hidden implications of her dress.

It was revealing true, but more than that it was neither loose or restrictive. The innkeeper's form was slender, but she knew it was all to easy to achieve a figure that belied strength to crush boulders. The straw that broke the camel's back however, was her bearing, much too sincere to be hiding any apprehension despite the fact that there was quite a number of things to fear. From that she could infer that Cynthia would be able to hold her own if need be, and that she was a a possible source of information.

The only problem she had now was how to extract it.

"Hey Cynthia?" With an audible clink, the emptied glass tankard met the table as she flashed the younger woman a smile. "How good is your hearing?"

Eh, she was never any good at the subtle stuff anyway.

"That depends," Cynthia replied as she put the empty tray aside to begin wiping other empty vessels. The smile she wore was still there, though almost instantaneously it shifted from cheerful to polite. The innkeeper's body tensed almost imperceptibly as her eyes focused on the task at hand instead of looking into her own amber eyes. "How soft are we talking here?"

"Dead silent." She didn't bother wiping the smile on her face as she leaned in, cupping her cheeks in her hand as she rested her elbows on the counter. With a little effort, she forced the power she remembered into her blood and into her eyes, what was once warm golden amber slowly being eclipsed by sharp icy azure. "Do you mind? Mine's not very good, though I did manage to hear some things about a certain Huntsman."

"Ah, a Huntsman you say?" Hesitation crept into her voice as even the rest of the hall began to grow quiet, a curtain she spent so much time learning to put up finally in effect. Between her saccharine smile, pure blue eyes, and a hint of her power cooling the air, she was sure Cynthia was feeling quite terrified. The girl was trembling, obviously fighting the urge to strike out in fear or to simply run away in terror, and had trouble even constructing a reply in a way that seemed least threatening and most useful. She had the younger woman right where she wanted her. "There are a lot of things I hear about Huntsmen, do you have anything in particular."

"I heard he likes it in these types of places." She easily replied, her smile widening as a visible shudder racked through the woman's spine. "And that he's really quiet. But no one is _that_ quiet, and even an ancient Grimm leaves tracks. Any ideas?"

"That isn't really much to go on, Miss Aki. Though I will see what I can do." She quickly amended, acting as if she didn't want to offend whatever monster that smiled before her. She never understood why her smile and a little change of eye color could instill such fear into people, though she would admit it was quite the tool when she tried to have her way. It always worked with her son after all, as well as most people the little boy knew. "Is it alright if I get back to you on that?"

"Sure, though there is one other thing?" A little disappointment crept into her expression, though her sly smirk soon kept her slip under wraps. Not that Cynthia, would notice given by how much power she had pressed on her.

"An-anything you want." Ooh, she was stuttering now? A sheen of unshed tears glimmered within her olive eyes as shaking hands grabbed at the counter to keep her upright.

"Am I really that scary?" And just like that the air cleared, the noise returned and gentle care welled up in her eyes. A bit of her tongue peeked from the corner of her mouth, in a way she faintly remembered her son doing, as she giggled almost like a child.

Immediately she saw the change, fear turned into outrage as her trembling intensified. "Yo-you..." There were still hints of tears in her eyes, though the faint blush that hid her freckles told her that it wasn't anything too bad. "You-"

"Is there a problem here?" A heavy hand touched on her shoulder as the gravely voice snaked its way into her ears, taking in all of the thinly veiled threat.

She sighed when she fell the characteristic thrum of Aura against her skin as the hand squeezed on her. That was fine, her son told her about being known as the "I" before leaving and with that most of her Schrift and memories regarding it came flowing out. Force such as a mountain coming down on her tip-first wouldn't even damage her all that badly, and whatever this person was trying to do wouldn't even qualify as a love tap. Still, this was a challenge being issued, and she was more that willing to answer with force.

"Do you mind? We were simply having a conversation." She spoke with a tone that was both gentle yet brokered no room for argument before Cynthia had time to compose herself. She wouldn't turn to face whoever this upstart was, not yet, though she did understand why he would act in such a manner.

Who didn't want to be the knight to save the beautiful damsel?

"I don't think simple conversations involve scaring the hell out of the poor innkeeper here. But hey, I've seen crazier." He seemed to think himself funny with that one. "Point is, will you scurry along, or will I have to make you?"

"Sir, I don't think-" Cynthia tried to diffuse the situation as peacefully as possible, heaven knows what a fight between hunters would do to her establishment, but of course the pleas of the supposed 'damsel in distress' would be ignored. If she didn't know better, she would have concluded that poor Cynthia was being coerced into stopping the fight. She did look like she was bullying the girl a bit, but she wasn't and at the very least Cynthia now knew she was never in any danger.

But the other huntsman didn't. "Don't worry, this won't even take a minute." Bravado rang in his voice as his hand squeezed just a bit tighter, though more than likely he was already giving it his full efforts.

Was the gap between them that large?

"Miss Aki?"

Maybe she would have to show him.

"It's actually Missus, or Mistress, whatever you prefer dear." When she finally turned to face him, the first thing and admittedly the last thing she noticed was the the slight stubble on his chin. Figures it was an ingrate that didn't know his way around a razor threatening her. On the plus side, at least she didn't need to hold back as much as she would, he was the one who started this argument given his misunderstanding after all. He also had quite amount of power in him, though not enough to keep his hand on her when she slapped it off her shoulder.

"He's got one thing right though." She stood to her full height and looked the man in the eye, a familiar red peering into orbs of the purest ice blue as a twinge of hesitation made its way into his expression. "It'll be over before you know it."

At least she would get a bit of excersie during her mission, Grimm could be so boring if they weren't at the very least a century old.

She just hoped that Ichigo was doing well, school could bring enough of it's own headaches.

* * *

**o0OO0o**

* * *

Ichigo couldn't help but wonder if this was what the great Captain Commander felt whenever he and his other so called Ryoka crashed the party and made a mess of things. It would certainly explain why the old man was always particularly irritable, a millennium of cleaning up messes couldn't have been all fun and games.

"To ensure that we're understanding this correctly, we'll go over this again. That woman was an acquaintance of yours as well as the one you were supposed to deliver Professor Bostov's... parcel to." Weiss took the opportunity to play spokesperson when they found an adequately sequestered area in the gardens. "She is also an accomplished author of..." her gaze drifted to her scroll for a while before snapping back at him. "Children's books and novels like Princess in the Night and Three Little Cats, though most notable would be her status as a retired Huntress despite not graduating from any academy. And she threatened us a while ago... why exactly?"

He fought down the urge to sigh again, he was beginning to sound like Byakuya or Tōshirō at this rate, though at least he knew why they were exasperated most of the time. "Sorry about that. Apparently she has a book coming along and she hit a bump on it. She seemed to think it was a good idea to use you guys as test subjects while she collected the rest of her things from Ko-Professor Bostov. Sorry, most people I know aren't exactly the most normal."

Everyone turned to Pyrrha as she cleared her throat, obviously detecting the not so subtle jab at her and quickly killed his attempt to lighten up the situation. "Attempts at humor aside, I'm more curious as to how she threatened us. Everyone felt a presence right after she spoke, correct?" Everyone nodded once before emerald green dove deep into golden amber. "Though you didn't seem to react, Ichigo. Is it safe to conclude that you are, perhaps, either familiar with what she did or were you unable to detect the strange phenomenon?" His silence simply prompted her further. "What was it then?"

"Of course I knew what it was." He replied evenly, scratching his head as he repeated what they already knew. He wasn't exactly in the position to deny her when she and Weiss worked together, or when Zangetsu was laughing his ass off when his friends were frightened by, and quote 'A hilariously tiny amount of Reiatsu'. To be fair to them though, this was a lieutenant prodding at them, and one with enough control of her sword that she knew exactly how you make the most out of the 'pathetically small' amount. "And you guys should really know about it by now."

"It's Aura, isn't it?" Jaune was the one to raise his voice, breaking the silence brought about by the confusion of the two teams. "It was different, but somehow it felt like I was fighting Zangetsu again... after he told me that we were practicing hand-to-hand _that day_." He could _see_ the chill as it went down his spine, the emotional scar threat encounter inflicted on the boy still haunting him even until now.

"Cool, you two have a nice reminisce about the past moment." Yang grabbed everyone's attention with the poise and grace of a flaming wrecking ball. "But for all of us who weren't there, what happened _that day_? And how was that Aura? You're not supposed to _feel _Aura like that until you hit something. What gives?"

He knew that day well, when his Hollow decided it was about time Jaune learned how to stand up for himself and reclaim his true potential. It was also the day he promised himself never to leave his Hollow alone with Jaune ever again.

Apparently, Zangetsu thought it was a good idea to force an eleven-year-old to brawl with him, a Vasto Lorde, in an isolated forest miles from their home until one of them decided to give up. Oh, and it would be important to note that Jaune was not allowed to give up. The long and short end of it was, Zangetsu had to carry the little boy home from a crater that was definitely once part of the lush forest. To everyone's shock though, Zangetsu told them that it was Jaune who managed to muster enough power to level a good half acre of the woods, though the emotional damage the Hollow caused would probably impair him from using his true strength unless he find himself in the most dire of circumstances.

Of course Kon, Nozomi, His mother, and Jaune's own parents were skeptical, especially when the boy didn't exactly remember that he could demolish whole swaths of forest but once Zangetsu applied a bit of pressure and Jaune started screaming and _glowing_ they were convinced. The child's footprints burned into the floor of the living room helped make the case all the more believable.

That also began the limit testing, as Zangetsu called it.

Of course, he would like to keep it from his friends that his teammate attempted to murder the boy they perceived to be 'weakest' among them, but apparently he didn't need to explain himself.

"You guys know that me and Ichigo go way back, right?" Again, when everyone gave Jaune a look he continued with a hint of sheepishness on his expression. They did talk about pre-academy relationships right after initiation after all. "Right, we already introduced ourselves, smooth, Jaune, really smooth. Anyway, Ichigo used to train with me, train me more accurately, and when we sparred sometimes he would use something he calls 'Spiritual Pressure' or Reiatsu."

"Ri-at-soo? Sounds like a dessert, but if its what happened a bit ago then it definitely can't be delicious. Could it be that she snuck something in our food?" Nora explained happily before muttering the last part, shaking her head as if she was trying to banish any thought that even suggested that her pancakes were less than holy. "Tell us, oh great and fearless leader, what is this new... thingemawhat? Or maybe Ichi can go and explain his weirdness, oh and maybe finally tell us how he can _fly_?" He could detect true expectation as well as annoyance in her voice. She still hadn't forgotten how they met it seemed, even if they knocked her out two seconds after.

"It's basically Aura being used, though instead of focusing it into something like a protective field or added punching power, its simply let loose." He ignored Nora as she stuck out her tongue at him. "If Aura is usually the shield that protects us or the armor we wear into battle, manifesting it in the form of Reiatsu is something like taking that shield and bashing it over your opponents head." It wasn't exactly the best way to describe it but even after another lifetime, he was still one of the instinctual and physical learners. He wasn't and probably would never be the best at actually explaining things.

Especially something as vague and basic as Reiatsu; that was more Urahara's department. "The 'weight' or 'pressure' will depend on how much Aura a person has, obviously the more you got, the harder you can 'push' or the larger the area you can push, or both. It usually only works on people weaker than the user 'cause if the other guy can push harder, then it isn't really worth much. The way I use it when training Jaune is like a gauge, to see how much he can 'push' back, while at the same time concentrating on the fight. I guess I've been doing it wrong, since Pyrrha just unlocked Jaune's Aura during the initiation."

"It always seemed harmless enough though, even when I couldn't fight it properly. Whenever we would spar, Ichigo's would feel like I was moving underwater, making things a little bit harder and forcing me to focus a bit more." Jaune explained, continuing from where he left of and smiling sheepishly as all eyes fell on him thanks to that particular fact. A tentative hand reached for his neck as he flashed them a shaken smile. "Hers, hers was like having a knife to my neck but even then at least I knew that I could fight back. Or try to fight back at least."

"But Zangetsu's Reiatsu... that's not something you can fight with." Blue eyes seemed to darken as he recalled what little information he retained regarding that one-sided slaughter. "One moment I was standing in a clearing, hands up and ready to fight him and the next I'm waking up on a bed with my mother looking down at me." Which was not at all, apparently. Inwardly, he was taken with regret; he definitely shouldn't have left Zangetsu alone with the kid especially at that age.

"So that's what it was!" Ruby happily exclaimed, almost completely hiding the fact that to the side Yang muttered the same thing darkly. "He must be-like-super strong if he could crush everyone in the police station like that!"

"Wait what?" Ichigo couldn't keep his brow from twitching. Zangetsu never did tell him how he managed to get out after he was caught, he simply assumed Kon had a hand in it.

Sure, he knew perfectly well that Zangetsu was never the subtlest of them, and that in their separated state he was the most physically powerful but there were supposed limits to how much the Hollow could do. If he was hearing this correctly then not only did the Hollow get caught by a Hunter on patrol, he busted himself out of the police station. He knew his Hollow was capable of stealth, all predators worth their salt could go unnoticed if the situation demanded it, but if Zangetsu busted out of there then definitely he did so as a show of defiance. He had been locked away for so long, he refused to be pinned down by anything less than Tensa when he could so easily rend any other chain that hoped to hold him.

How much pull did Kon have to use to sweep this mess under the table? If he brought his presence down on the entire building, or worse the entire block, how many people were affected by the deathly chill of the realm's most feared Hollow? How many noticed his little show of power and how many more would see them as a threat? Too many questions, and he could feel that he wouldn't like to hear the answers.

"Yeah, he was really, really nice when when I was brought to that holding cell." Ruby on her part was strangely chipper when she talked about their shared time in prison, drawing a multitude of odd looks from both her team and Jaune's. "He said he fought some guys in suits too, though he was in a bookstore while I was hanging around at a dust outlet. He said something about none of them being able to stand in his almighty presence, but I just thought that he knew his way around the fight. Those mooks in black suits weren't exactly that good, to be honest, but I never though he meant that they couldn't stand, Literally!"

"Not to be rude, Ichigo, but you're team is definitely something else when it comes to changing the gravity of the situation. When he walked out of that prison, everyone was foaming on the floor like junkies on a bad trip, I barely even got a good look at him when I kissed the floor!" Even if she wasn't helping Zangetsu's current situation, Yang still seemed to have time make puns though it might have not been intended this time given the frantic tone and reddening irises. The table trembling as her hand fell was more than enough to tell them of her opinion on he affair. "Narius, that throne-stealing yellow -no offence Jaune- managed to say three words and its like the world's coming down on you. I don't even want to think about what you can do."

At least he knew why Yang was so insistent on knowing what it was. He definitely needed to talk to the rest of his spirits when they were alone.

"But since we're all cool now, there's no problem!" Ruby quickly amended. "I mean, at first we all though you were scary, except Weiss since you knew her too, but after we all got to know each other we're cool now. I think, even if what Lisa did is scary, she really didn't mean anything so we're cool with that too. Right guys?"

"Don't look at me, I've been training like this for years." Jaune brushed the attention away as eyes returned to him. "I guess I'm used to it by now."

"I've battled under the same conditions as well, though maybe it had less of an effect on me." Pyrrha joined her leader, though she turned to flash him a sly smile. "Still it would have been nice to have a warning, I'm sure most people you know have some surprises of their own."

"I'm with Pyrrha, though he's never used the tiramisu on me before." Nora chirped. "Don't worry Ichi, Ren has weird Aura punches too so its perfectly normal!."

Ren just nodded tiredly. When he shot the fellow sufferer a curious look he simply replied, "Just like your ability to fly, she thinks I have weird super hands."

"But he just said it was possible!" Nora argued with a smile on her face, bright enough that everyone simply dropped that strange subject.

"I guess if Ruby has no problem with it, though you keep that weirdness business in check or we're going to have a problem." Yang all but growled the warning, though the feral smile betrayed her excitement at the thought of knowing what she faced. She was as much of a hunter as Zangetsu was, one who lived for the fight or the thrill of it. "Don't come crying to me if _anything_ happens."

"Yang! No going after our friends!" Ruby waved her arms wildly as she chastised her sister. "We don't want a repeat of poor, poor Terry." Everyone wisely let that one go as well.

"Everyone has their secrets I suppose." Blake added her own two cents with just as much expression as the Lisa of old. "And since no one meant any harm, I am fine with letting bygones be bygones."

"Am I the only one interested in learning how to do this?" Weiss couldn't help but voice her surprise last, obviously expecting at least one of them to share her sentiment. "This is Aura manipulation, people, everyone uses and can learn how to use it. Is it that strange that I want to be able to replicate that phenomenon?"

"Be careful what you wish for, little girl, or you may just get it." Lisa spoke, once more appearing out of nowhere. This time though, she was leaning against one of the pillars that held the roof of the gazebo as she shot Weiss a seductive smile. Of course he wasn't surprised, he saw right through the barrier she put up as soon as they entered the area. Yes, they, Kon was right beside her though the Kido that hid his form remained intact.

The newly dubbed professor couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Weiss surprise, as well as her strange outrage. He was the one teaching an elective on 'Advanced Aura Application' after all.

"THAT'S SO COOL! WHERE DID YOU EVEN COME FROM?! AND HOW DO YOU JUST..."

"That though, is something I don't mind learning."

He couldn't tell which was worse, the strange smile Yang shot the bespectacled Visor or the glint hiding behind silver eyes as Ruby erupted into another enthusiastic tirade. It was an eerie sight, reminiscent of a certain feline he used to learn under.

He hoped against hope that the strange movement he managed to catch in the corner of his vision wasn't a black cat sneezing.

* * *

**AN**

**Really long Hiatus, very sorry for making you guys wait. To be frank, I don't want to take it too far, I was depressed this past few months. I don't want to burden anyone with why, but I'm better now. There are some relapses, but I don't thing I'll be in real working shape for a while. I'm about a tenth done with the next chapter, so it should be out before long, hopefully.**

**Thanks for your support, I really should edit chap 1 a bit more. The first thing I saw in my email was another confusion remark and a favorite so thanks for keeping this alive even if I wasn't this past few months. It means more than any of you could know.**

**I'm back, and I'll be back soon.**

**This has been ****Proccit ;))**

**See Ya!**


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